


Beware Of Darkness

by Jude_Rigby



Series: Beware Of Darkness [1]
Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, Crime, Drama, F/M, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:53:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 62,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27456037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jude_Rigby/pseuds/Jude_Rigby
Summary: The investigation into the murder of a young mother in the foyer of a brownstone puts Beckett in danger and leads to changes in the detective's life.
Relationships: Kate Beckett & Richard Castle, Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Series: Beware Of Darkness [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006014
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Prologue- The Hopelessness Around You

**Author's Note:**

> This story is AU, of course, and as such what happened in the show applies to this series up to the episode Secret Santa. I have a few things past that but they will be briefly mentioned. Also, only Ryan is aware of Castle and Beckett's relationship at this point, so from Probable Cause to Secret Santa the events in those episodes still apply to this series that I've written, just not Esposito or Lanie knowing about the relationship
> 
> The title of this story is the name of a song by George Harrison from his album _All Things Must Pass_. And all the chapter titles of this story are from the song as well. It's a great song, and fits with this story really well.

The cut to her arm was swift, and she had little time in which to react before her skin began to burn as blood gushed out of the consequent wound rapidly. She dropped to her knees, trying to staunch it with her right hand, and felt both hands start to shake as her attackers swiftly walked around her to the staircase she'd been trying to prevent them from reaching in the struggle that had lead up to that moment.

"Get the girl man, we gotta go, the neighbors probably called the cops," she could hear one attacker yell to the others. She was shaking so badly that her attempts to stand up were failing before she could even move one of her legs to raise herself from the marbled floor. She heard the sounds of doors opening, slamming, muffled and loud as the men searched each room inside of the brownstone house above her trembling body.

"Fuck the kid's not here! What do we do?" another attacker yelled.

"We wait, the police will find her and we get her then," the leader of the group of men said as their voices got closer.

On her side, the shaking grew more intense and she could feel something dripping from her nose and mouth. She was too far gone to notice the men glancing at her before leaving, she was only dimly aware of a door slamming after them.

She remembered the reason they had broken into the home then, and she somehow managed to roll onto her stomach, reaching out with her cut arm, trying to crawl towards the stairs through the broken glass and furniture. But she was hit by a sudden convulsion that was more violent than her shaking before, and her last thought was of her daughter and the hope that whoever found her would be able to protect her far better than she had.


	2. Each Unconscious Sufferer

"Do you think this guy is necessarily bad news Castle?" Beckett asked her partner as they walked down a sidewalk in front of brownstone homes to the crime scene.

"Good question, I just don't understand why Alexis won't tell me more about this mystery boyfriend," Castle said, shaking his head as he thought of his daughter. "She kind of snapped in the end and said she just wants to see how this relationship will go." He glanced at his partner and saw the slight smile that flashed across her face. "What, it's comical?"

"No, it's not a surprise is what it is. I think she just wants to see how the relationship goes for now. See if it's got the potential to go any further, a lot of women will do that," Beckett answered as they went up the stairs to the entrance of the brownstone which was being guarded by two police officers.

"Should I still be worried about this guy?" Castle asked as one of the officers raised the police tape from one side of the double doors that were wide open.

"I don't think so, Alexis is a smart young woman, I'm sure she'll realize if the guy's a creep… or a criminal," Beckett said. She smiled back at her boyfriend as he muttered, "That's a relief," sarcastically, before she stepped into the house.

"Oh man, was there a riot here," Castle said as he stepped into the house after Beckett and looked around.

"Might as well have been," Detective Ryan said, walking over to them. "With all the damage done. But it's a homicide. Our victim is Maureen O'Malley, twenty-nine years old."

"How many killers were here?" Castle said, his eyes on the broken glass and pieces of wood strewn across the foyer.

"Don't know, but only one of them killed her," Ryan said, following Beckett over to the body by the stairs. "It looks like she was trying to keep them from something, judging from all the glass. She put up a good fight but…"

"She only has one cut?" Beckett asked, looking at the black haired woman on the floor, a deep horizontal gash on her upper arm that revealed the bone. "Anything else that might have killed her?"

"At this point I can't say for certain," Lanie said as she was kneeling next to the body and looking at the wound with a magnifying glass. "But it does seem like something with this cut caused her death, I'll have to examine her more closely to be able to give you a definitive answer."

"There's a lot of blood," Beckett said absently, straightening up and looking around the victim. "In a short trail and close to the body."

"Whatever it was that killed her was almost instant. Did they hit an artery?" Castle asked, looking at the blood pattern and the glass.

"Yes, but I don't think she died from that, not with how far she was able to get from where the blood pattern begins," Lanie said. "There is some kind of strange green coloring around the edges of her skin though; I'll need to run a toxicology report to check on that."

"She dragged herself," Castle said, going to where the blood started, spraying out towards the door in a fan shape of mist. "Once she fell on the ground, and went for the stairs. Anything up there?"

"A lot of footprints," Ryan answered. "You can see three different shapes right here. The soles were dirty, but not enough to really leave any treads for us to lift."

"Any other different patterns?" Beckett asked as she went to the side of the stairs where one of the rungs holding up the railing was knocked out. "I think I've found how she fought back without showing any signs of her struggle." She picked up a wooden bat with her gloved hands and showed Castle and Ryan.

"So she was trying to keep them from upstairs," Castle said. "Was anything stolen up there?"

"Esposito's looking with some officers," Ryan said. "In more detail because nothing was disturbed up there besides all the doors. Whatever they were looking for they wanted to find badly, almost every door's been ripped of the hinges."

"Any drawers opened or things rifled through?" Beckett asked after handing off the bat to someone from CSU to mark as evidence.

When Ryan shook his head no, Castle looked up the flight of marble stairs and said, "What could they have been looking for if it wasn't something valuable like jewelry or money? A computer, papers?"

"No, nothing that suggests they were looking for anything like that. There's absolutely no evidence of anything stolen or moved," Ryan said.

"Did the vic have a child? A son or daughter?" Beckett suddenly said, making Castle and Ryan look over at her.

Ryan opened his mouth to speak, looking bemused, when there was a call from the top of the stairs that interrupted him and made the three of them look up to see it was Esposito.

"She did have a kid, a daughter," he said. "She's up here in her room."

"Is she dead?" Castle asked.

"No, she's… in a hidden room inside her closet," Esposito said.

"Why haven't you gotten her out?" Beckett asked, going to the bottom of the stairs, keeping away from the body.

"There's no way to open the door to it on the outside. Only way is in the room where she's in, and she's not moving, saying we're all 'very bad men,'" Esposito replied. "Apparently the responding officers tried to get her out when they came up here and heard her crying. But she keeps saying her mother told her not to open the door, might be those very bad men."

"Maybe she'd trust a woman more," Castle said, glancing at Beckett.

"There aren't any female officers here?" Beckett said.

"Actually no," Ryan answered for Esposito. "You and Lanie are the only women here."

"Don't look at me, I need to get the vic back to the lab," Lanie said simply when Beckett turned to her as she was looking at the victim's face for evidence of injuries.

Taking in a deep breath, Beckett nodded, and she started up the stairs, hearing footsteps behind her. She turned to see it was Castle and she quickly turned back to Esposito who was starting down. "I'm going to need you to check on neighbors, see if anyone heard anything or saw the killers arriving or if there's another way to get into this house."

"Right on it," Esposito said as he went down the rest of the staircase at a jog and went through the front door after Ryan.

"You have to wonder why exactly this mother was so anxious to hide her daughter," Castle commented as they reached the top of the stairs and saw some officers standing at a doorway down the hallway.

"The room?" Beckett asked.

"Have you ever seen a room like that?" Castle replied. "It sounds like it might have been made specially for this purpose."

"We'll have to look into that. If the victim knew her daughter was in trouble and built a secret room to conceal her daughter in a situation like this it means she knew someone was after them," Beckett said. "Any luck?" she asked the officers.

"No Detective, she's refusing to even listen to us now," an officer said as he walked to the doorway from inside the room. "Hopefully you'll have better luck than us."

Beckett stepped inside the room and glanced around, seeing that it was a normal child's room. The walls were painted a pale blue and had numerous posters taped up to them and numerous stuffed animals that she guessed had been on top of the made bed before the killer and attackers had come in and tore it apart.

"Any idea how old she is?" Castle asked, looking around the walls as well.

"No clue, she won't even tell us her name, we're trying to look through the vic's papers to see a name, but it's as if she was hiding her daughter," one of the officers said.

Beckett had turned to the closet across from the bed and walked over to where she guessed was the hidden door, as some shoes and toys had been pushed away from one wall. She knocked on the wall and jumped when there was a child's scream inside.

"Go away, you're gonna hurt me!" came from inside the room, the voice muffled.

"No, it's okay sweetie," Beckett said, quickly realizing the little girl was very young by her voice. "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm a police officer."

"There are very bad men there, they will hurt me," the girl sobbed softly.

"Officers, I think maybe it'd be a good time to leave Detective Beckett on her own," Castle said, realizing that the little girl wasn't going to come out without all the men in the room leaving. He followed the officers out of the doorway and stopped before he turned to Beckett whispering, "I'll be in the hallway if you need my help."

Nodding, Beckett turned back to the door and said as gently as she could, "The other police officers are gone now."

"They're still bad men," the girl said, sounding as if she had calmed down slightly.

"No, no, they're police officers and I know them, they wouldn't hurt a little girl," Beckett said. "What's your name sweetie?" she asked, knowing that she needed to get the child to trust her if she was going to get her out of the room.

"J-Julia, what's yours?" the girl said softly.

"My name is Kate, and I'm here to help you Julia," Beckett said. "I know how scared you must be, but I promise you that I will do whatever I can to help you."

"Are the very bad men here still?" Julia said.

"No, there's only the police, and I promise, that's it," Beckett said. "So it's alright for you to come out, no one will hurt you, I promise. If they tried to I would definitely stop them." She was a little concerned when she got no answer, so she looked around the room, trying to find another way to connect to the girl, when she saw some ballet slippers on the floor with other shoes the officers had left a jumbled mess after pushing them away from the wall. "Do you like ballet at all Julia? Do you dance?" When she got no response she said, "I'm guessing you do, I see your ballet slippers here. I'm a little jealous, I danced when I was very little, about six years old, but I never got the hang of it."

"I'm four," Julia said suddenly after Beckett had paused. "I started dancing after my birthday last month."

"How fun," Beckett said. "Julia, why don't you come out now? I'm sure it's not very nice in that room in the dark."

"Are the bad men gone really?" Julia asked pleadingly.

"Yes it's just me in the room," Beckett said. She heard the click of a latch being opened, and a second later a small door, only around four feet high appeared suddenly in the wall, and she pushed back on her knees to get out of the way as it swung out towards her. She watched as a little girl with reddish brown hair stepped out of the dark room, her wide green eyes red with tears. She smiled a little at her, and was surprised when Julia suddenly threw herself at her, clinging to her neck. She was a little startled by the action, but a second later she wrapped her arms around the child, and hugged her as Julia began to sob against her.

Listening to Beckett inside the room trying to coax the little girl out of the closet, Castle smiled a little as she talked about ballet dancing. He was a little concerned when there was silence in the room, and he went to the doorway, looking in and seeing a little girl holding on tightly to Beckett as she stood up.

Shaking her head when Castle opened his mouth, Beckett went over to the window seat next to the torn up bed and set Julia down. When the little girl gasped at the sight of Castle and scrambled back on the seat before she hit the window she quickly told her, "No, it's okay Julia, this is my partner Castle, he won't hurt you, I promise." She smiled reassuringly at Julia when she looked up at her with wide eyes and said, "He's also my friend so I can tell you right now I trust him."

"Believe me, Kate would definitely be able to stop me if I was a bad man," Castle said, taking a few steps forward into the room. He frowned when Julia hid behind Beckett, holding onto her arm, and said, "I won't come any further."

"Julia, can you sit here for right now, I need to talk with him for a little bit okay? I won't leave the room, I promise," Beckett said soothingly as she gently pried her arm from Julia's tight grip. Once the little girl was holding her stuffed animal she'd been carrying with her in the compartment in the closet, Beckett went over to Castle and said, "Are social services here?"

"Ryan called up that a worker was here, but I don't know if she's going to let her take her," Castle said, glancing past Beckett's shoulder at the child who was sitting with her eyes closed tightly.

"I can take her down," Beckett said, glancing back at Julia. "But I can't let her see her mother's body. Even if it's covered, she'll see the glass and blood."

Castle thought for a moment before he took off his blazer and said, "Cover her with this."

Nodding, Beckett turned back to Julia and smiled at her before saying, "Julia, when you were in the closet, did you hear anyone in your room?"

"Yeah, the bad men were here, they were yelling," Julia whispered. "It scared me."

"Okay, we need to get you out of the house," Beckett said, picking her up and holding her against her hip. "That way we can take you someplace safe." Castle walked over to her then and she felt Julia grab her neck a little tighter than before. "It's okay; we just need to cover you up."

"Yeah, it's pretty sunny outside, so this is just to protect you," Castle said quickly as he helped Beckett with his blazer, covering the child from head to toe. "Can you see anything?"

"No," Julia said, her voice muffled.

"Good, now keep your face turned to me alright? That way the sun doesn't reach you," Beckett said, going with Castle's excuse since the little girl seemed to be buying it. She felt Julia's face burry into her neck and she walked out of the room with Castle following her. "It's okay," she whispered as Ryan and Esposito appeared at the top of the stairs when they reached them. "This is to shield her from downstairs. I'm handing her over to social services and we'll talk after she's on her way to the Precinct." The two men nodded and stepped out of her way as she descended, feeling Castle grab the lapels of his blazer as it started to slip from her tight grasp on it.

Once outside and down the brownstone's steps, Castle let go of the blazer and let Beckett remove it from the child before he took it back and followed her over to a young woman standing on the sidewalk.

"I'm with social services, is this the girl?" the woman asked as Julia kept her face pressed against Beckett's neck.

"This is Julia O'Malley, she's four years old," Beckett said as she handed over the girl. She was startled when Julia made a whimpering noise and held on tightly to her. "Julia, it's okay, this woman is here to help you, she won't let anyone hurt you." She then looked at the social services worker and said, "I'm going to need you to take her to the 12th Precinct, I need to interview her."

It took a little bit of a struggle before Beckett was able to give Julia to the woman, and she and Castle stayed on the sidewalk, watching as the worker carried the little girl, who was sobbing, to her car before they drove off. They looked at each other before Castle was the first to speak.

"Are we going back?" he asked her.

Looking back to the brownstone, Beckett nodded and said, "I need to tell Ryan and Esposito that we're heading out, that Julia might have something for us about the killer and attackers." She hurried up the steps then and was surprised when her two fellow detectives met her at the doorway. "Anything from the neighbors?" she asked.

"Most of them are at work about now," Ryan said. "But one older woman who's retired was looking out the window when she saw a dark SUV, no plates pull in front of the house here."

"Did she get a look at the men when they came out?" Beckett asked.

"One, but they were wearing scarves over their faces," Esposito said. "Only reason she mentioned the man is because he had a scar, from here to here," he said as he motioned from the end of his left eyebrow to about the middle of his cheek in a crescent shape.

"That's a pretty recognizable scar," Beckett said.

"That's why we asked her to come in and work with a sketch artist," Ryan said. "And the kid?"

"Julia O'Malley, four years old," Beckett said. "She said she heard our suspects when they were inside her room, she's being taken into the station now, I need to interview her."

"Looks like she got attached to you," Esposito commented.

"She's not a 'very bad man' like the rest of us," Castle commented.

"See if you can get anyone around here watching the crime scene to come forward with anything," Beckett said. "And tell Lanie we'll see what she has about the vic as soon as we're finished talking to the girl." She turned and went down the stairs, walking to where she had parked her car.

"You know Esposito was right," Castle said as they walked past the crowd of people that had gathered behind the police tape.

"It's like you said, I'm a woman, so she doesn't see me as any kind of threat," Beckett commented.

"You were pretty amazing getting her out of there though, it sounded like even if you were a woman, she wasn't going to trust you still," Castle said. "But you managed to connect with her quickly."

"I have to find her mother's killer," Beckett said as they reached the vehicle and she opened the driver's side door. "And if that means I'm her protector, then I'll take on that role gladly."

Castle nodded without comment, though he wanted to say that he thought she was taking on a role that was a lot more than a mere guardian for the little girl. And he wondered if Beckett was aware of it as they pulled away from the curb and headed to the 12th Precinct.

* * *

Walking down to her desk, Beckett hurriedly took off her coat and placed it on the side once she had reached it. She turned to Castle who was behind her and said, "You think she'll talk with you there?"

"If not I can make myself scarce," Castle said. "She's been through enough already."

"Okay," Beckett said, nodding absently. She led the way over to the interview room and saw that the social worker was in the doorway, waiting for them. "Is anything wrong?" she asked, worrying that something had happened to Julia.

"No, it's just she's not responding to me at all," the woman said. "She won't say anything besides your name Detective."

Glancing back at Castle and seeing the concerned look on his face, Beckett stepped inside the room and looked around, not seeing the little girl anywhere. "Is she-" she began.

"Over there, next to the couch," the social worker said.

Looking where the worker had mentioned, Beckett saw the white of Julia's shirt and she walked over to her quickly, kneeling down. "Julia, come out from there, it's okay, you don't need to worry about anyone hurting you here. This is a police station," she said as gently as she could as Julia looked at her with wide eyes but then glanced over at the social worker and Castle and tried to tuck herself further back next to the couch.

"It would probably be better if we left," Castle said. "I don't think she's going to want to speak to anyone besides Beckett."

"I'll be outside," the worker nodded.

"I'll be back," Castle said quickly before he followed the woman, closing the door behind him.

"Do you want to come out now?" Beckett asked the little girl, turning to her. She wasn't too surprised when Julia shook her head and she sighed, standing up. She didn't want to start the interview until she had the child more relaxed, willing to tell her everything she knew. Castle then knocked on the door just as she was wondering what she could do and she went to the doorway. "Water?" she asked as he handed her a cup with a straw.

"That's what took me longer, the social worker says Julia hasn't eaten or drunk anything since probably this morning," Castle said. "And this," he said, handing her a sketchpad and some crayons.

"Thanks," Beckett said, letting her fingers brush against his for an instant as she took the paper and crayons from him.

"I'll be right outside, the social worker's gone to get some coffee and she'll wait here outside until you're done and she can take her to social services," Castle said. "Good luck."

Nodding, Beckett closed the door and turned around, seeing that Julia was curled up on the floor by then. "Julia, I have some water here, if you're thirsty at all. And I have some crayons too, if you want to color a little bit you're welcome to," she said gently to the girl. When she didn't move from where she was, she sighed under her breath, knowing she'd been scared hearing Castle speak. She took a sip of the water and said, "It's fine sweetie, just regular water, and I hope you don't mind if I color some myself?" Getting no response, verbally or physically from the little girl, she sat on the couch and shook out the crayons on the sketchpad before picking up the red crayon. She started to draw a flower, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Julia.

Watching a little away from the windows in the room, Castle watched as the child stood up before she rushed at Beckett and jumped on the couch, scrambling up before she wrapped her arms around her tightly. He wondered then, with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, if Julia was aware of what had happened to her mother and he stepped a little closer, wondering what the two were saying as he could see their mouths moving in speech.

"Julia… your mother is…" Beckett began. She had been startled when the little girl had asked her what had happened to her mother, and was unsure how exactly to tell a four year old her mother was dead.

"She's gone isn't she?" Julia said miserably. "She went up to the sky?"

"To the sky?" Beckett asked, wondering if she meant heaven.

"Like my little birdie that I had, my mommy said she went to the sky where no one hurts you," Julia said. Tears welled up in her green eyes and she sobbed saying, "The bad men hurt her."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you Julia, to find them so they can't do it to another mother," Beckett said, hugging her to calm her down. "Do you remember anything from earlier today?" She watched the little girl, but Julia merely shook her head and hugged her tightly, seeming to shut down. She knew she was going to have to draw out of the little girl what had occurred, but was unsure if she should even try without a psychiatrist. But she remembered that Julia wasn't talking to anyone but her, and she realized she had no choice, but knew she needed to take it very carefully to keep from frightening the child. "I noticed your little doll here," she began then, touching the blue animal. "Why don't you tell me about her?"

"It's a boy, his name's Stitch," Julia said, smiling briefly. "He's from the movies."

"I don't think I ever saw that movie, is it funny?" Beckett asked, glad to see the smile for the instant it was on her face.

"A lot, it's my fav'rite," Julia smiled shyly. "He's bad but he's nice, he's not a bad man."

"No, what is he?" Beckett asked, wanting to put a little space between the mention of 'bad men' again and asking what the little girl had gone through earlier.

"From space," Julia said. She giggled a little and said, "He's really strong and can lift up a car! He helps Lilo when she's in trouble, he saves her."

"That sounds like a really good movie," Beckett said. "You know what; I think this blue is perfect for Stitch, why don't you draw a picture for me of him? I'd love to see how you can draw." When Julia tightened her grip on her, she quickly picked up the sketchpad and blue crayon and handed them to her before she took the stuffed animal and said, "I'll hold on to him for you while you're drawing okay?"

Castle was still watching Beckett and Julia through the window as the little girl proceeded to color on the sketchpad and Beckett talked to her. He smiled a little, his suspicions that Julia's connection with his girlfriend wasn't just one sided. He frowned slightly, wondering what exactly the killer and attackers wanted with her, when a voice spoke behind him, making him jump.

"Sorry Castle," Ryan said. "Esposito and I just got back, we didn't get anyone else by the house, everyone was either not near a window or not at home and the street was pretty much empty because of the time on a work and school day. How's the interview going?" he asked as he nodded to Beckett and Julia.

"I don't know, she wouldn't talk to anyone but Beckett," Castle said.

"Not even the social worker?" Ryan said in surprise.

"Not even her, I think she's seeing Beckett as her protector," Castle said. "She's the first one who promised to keep her safe from any 'very bad men' and meant it."

"Yeah, she was saying that over and over when we were trying to get her out of that little room," Esposito said, coming up behind them then. "Think she managed to see or hear them?"

"She might have heard them, she told Beckett back at the house. It's why she had her brought here," Castle said, turning back to the room. He saw that Beckett was talking to Julia seriously, and he realized that the interview was over. "We better get back; she's going to get scared again."

"It's okay Julia, I can promise you that she'll keep you safe too," Beckett was saying as she led Julia down to where the social worker was waiting. She looked around and saw that Castle, Ryan and Esposito were standing by her desk, looking over at her surreptitiously. "And I'll see you again, tomorrow okay? You just need to go with Victoria here." She tried to hand over Julia to the social worker once they'd reached her, but Julia's tiny hand tightened on hers, nearly dropping the sketchpad that she was holding along with her stuffed animal and crayons in the other. "I promise I'll see you tomorrow sweetie, they'll keep you safe tonight," she said as she picked up Julia and handed her to the worker.

"I'll contact you tomorrow Detective, about her," the social worker said as Julia tried to lean out of her arms, reaching to Beckett.

"Thank you," Beckett said with a nod before the social worker carried Julia into the elevator and the doors soon closed on the little girl sobbing heavily and whispering her name. She turned and was startled to see Captain Gates standing in front of her.

"Detective Beckett, was that child harmed at all along with her mother?" Gates asked.

"No sir, her mother hid her in a secret room inside a closet before our suspects could enter the house. She had no physical injuries," Beckett answered quickly.

"Keep me appraised on your case Detective, and if that child is at any risk," Gates said shortly before she turned and left the hall, going to her office.

Nodding though Gates couldn't see her, Beckett walked over to her desk and said, "What do you guys have?"

"Got the sketch," Esposito said, handing Beckett a paper. "And we canvassed all the people there at the crime scene, but no else saw anything."

"It's not enough to go on," Beckett said in slight annoyance as she looked at the picture. The face was half covered, up to the bridge of the nose, and the scar was a crescent moon shape down underneath the covering from the end of the eyebrow, as Esposito had described before. "And the scar isn't enough; it could end in any way under the scarf or whatever he was wearing." She walked over to the whiteboard to the side of her desk and put up the sketch before writing 'suspect?' underneath it. "I'm wondering, if Julia is who they were looking for, if maybe her father might be behind it. Or any paternal family member."

"I'll look into it," Ryan said. "And check if any of her own family members wanted the kid."

"You think she's the key to this," Esposito said as Beckett put up a picture of the crime scene next to the picture of the sketch. "The girl?"

"She said that they were swearing and saying they couldn't find 'the kid,'" Beckett replied, looking at the picture of their vic. She furrowed her brow in thought and said, "And her mother apparently saw the men walking up to the house as she told her that the bad men were coming and it was time for her to do what the routine they'd played before."

"Routine they played before?" Castle repeated. "So she knew this was going to happen and made Julia practice hiding in that room."

"Apparently, that's why I think it's good start to look at the family," Beckett said. "And she can maybe ID them if she hears their voices again."

"How did you get that out of her? She sounded like she was in a state of shock," Esposito said in surprise.

"I was able to get her to trust me," Beckett said, staring at the whiteboard for a long time before she turned to the three men. "She knows her mother's dead. From what I can guess from what Julia said, her mother was preparing her for today for a year at least."

"What the hell could they have wanted her for," Esposito said.

"Whatever it was, it's probably still going to affect her," Castle said. When the others looked at him he said, "You think they'll give up? Just because they didn't find her at the house? The way they tore everything up, they probably still need to get Julia. Her mother just got in the way and that's why they got rid of her."

"He's right," Beckett said, looking at Castle. "Julia told me that they said they would wait for the police and find her after that."

"Is that why she became so scared of the responding officers and us?" Ryan asked.

"It is, but I tried to tell her that we're trying to help her but…" Beckett said before trailing off and looking back at the picture of Julia's mother.

"She does trust you though," Castle said, watching her closely.

"I was lucky," Beckett said, turning back to them. "Okay, I want to call Lanie; see if she's gotten anything from the body. Espo, I want you to check the records for any criminals with prior arrests that have that same scar. Was the eyewitness able to guess their ethnicities?"

"Just that they were Caucasian, but she couldn't narrow it any further," Esposito answered. "And they were close in height… she said about six feet, five ten and maybe five eleven."

"Not much to go on. Try anyways and see what you get," Beckett said, grabbing her coat. "I have a bad feeling they're going to try something now that Julia's out of hiding. I don't want her to be at risk; even if it's her father trying to get custody of her back from our vic." She set off down the aisle to the elevator, not checking to see if Castle was following her.

"She's got a connection now," Ryan said.

"I know, but do not tell Gates that because Julia's going to need Beckett," Castle said. He hurried over to the elevator just as Beckett was going inside and once the doors had closed he said, "You okay?"

"Yes, I just don't want anything to happen to her because I managed to persuade her out of that hidden room," Beckett said, looking at the numbers on the side of the door. She felt his hand on her arm and she looked up at him.

"She's a cute kid," Castle said simply.

"She is, and she's as much a victim as her mother," was all that Beckett would say before the elevator stopped and she strode out, unaware that Castle was watching her, but knowing that he knew she was hiding her emotions behind another wall, unable to face them for the moment. She closed her eyes tightly as she walked to her car, trying to ignore the connection she felt to Julia, her thoughts of her own mother filling her mind. She stopped abruptly and turned, seeing Castle was standing just outside the closed elevator doors before he walked to her. "Now is not a good time," she said to him pleadingly.

"No, but I will bring this up again Kate. Later," Castle said as a kind of warning.

Beckett didn't miss the relief on his face as she nodded, but she pushed her thoughts on Julia and the sudden bond she'd formed with the little girl away, and turned and walked from Castle, feeling his eyes on her as he walked after her. She knew she wasn't going to be able to ignore what had happened the second that compartment door had opened and she'd looked into Julia's green eyes that were filled with tears. She only hoped she would be able to do her job and protect the little girl from the killer and attackers, a surge of anger at anyone wanting to hurt Julia filling her and helping her steps speed up, echoing in the underground garage as she suddenly couldn't figure out the particulars of the murder and attempted kidnapping fast enough.


	3. Dropping All Around You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter, I'm not a medical doctor, so if there are mistakes concerning that I do apologize. Another thing, I'm not an expert at digitalis either.
> 
> I really don't think Beckett's apartment is a two bedroom one; I can assume that in NYC one would have a fairly high rent; however, for my story I needed to take a little artistic license with that, just imagine it's a very small bedroom.

"What have you got for us Lanie?" Beckett asked as she and Castle walked into the morgue.

"You got here in time," Lanie said in reply as she looked up from the file in her hands. "I was able to do a quick exam with our vic; she didn't have much wrong with her. Except for this," she said, motioning to the gash on the arm.

"So she bled to death?" Beckett asked.

"Actually she did not," Lanie said. "I suspected as much, as nothing major was cut. It was deep, but not deep enough to cut the artery completely; as I had initially thought."

"Did the killer know what he was doing?" Castle asked. "Or he just couldn't get a better cut."

"Well, I think he knew what he was doing actually," Lanie said. "Because I noticed that her nose was slightly swollen and I x-rayed it, found it broken. Besides the cut, that was it."

"So the killer disarmed her by punching her; likely the other two attackers distracting her; got rid of the bat and then cut her," Beckett said. "But if the cut wasn't fatal and all she has by the way of injuries is a broken nose, what exactly killed her?"

"That's why I'm glad you got here when you did," Lanie said, walking to the counter she'd set the file on. "I just got the preliminary toxicology report. That green substance? Digitalis."

"Foxglove?" Castle asked in surprise. When the two women looked at him in surprise, he said quickly, "It's from the plant foxglove, it has medicinal qualities, but too high a dose is deadly." Beckett and Lanie still were still looking at him, so he said, "It's in an episode of _The X-Files_ , Alexis' favorite."

"He's right," Lanie said, looking at Beckett. "In small doses it's an herbal medication for the heart, but large doses, it will kill."

"And this is what the green substance is on her arm?" Beckett asked.

"Yes, it's likely that the killer soaked the knife that he used in some kind of resin to make it sticky, and then powered it with the digitalis. A concentrated enough dose to kill her," Lanie said. "And that's all I have with our vic. No other trauma but the gash and her broken nose. They were quick and pretty efficient too."

"So they've done this before?" Beckett asked, seeing it was a possible lead. When Lanie nodded the said, "Thank you, we need to get back to the Precinct and see if there've been any other murders using digitalis."

"How's the little girl?" Lanie asked before Castle and Beckett could turn to leave.

"She's with social services," Beckett said quickly before turning around and heading for the doors.

"She's a little stressed, the girl, Julia, is still in danger from the killer and attackers," Castle explained quickly so the pathologist wouldn't be angry at her friend's reaction. He was relieved when Lanie gave a quick nod of her head and then he headed out after his partner.

"I'm guessing you explained to her why I answered like that?" Beckett said, slowing down enough for him to catch up to her once she had heard his footsteps.

"The easier version of why," Castle said simply. "But not the one that explains your reason for being a little more… angrier than normal."

"You know my mother's story," Beckett said, clenching her hands into fists.

"That's not the only connection though," Castle said once they were in the parking garage for the building.

"And what other connection could there between me and Julia?" Beckett asked, stopping at the car, turning to Castle.

"For some reason, something inside you made the connection to Julia as a, as a daughter basically," Castle explained, bracing himself for her reaction.

"We don't have time for this," Beckett said simply before she turned and went to the driver's side door. "We need to search the murder weapon and to see if there have been any other murders using that in the city."

Castle nodded, though Beckett was already inside the car, and he went around to the passenger side, knowing it was way too soon to try and push her on the subject of the little girl. He hoped though that he'd at least gotten her to think about what she was going through emotionally before she completely shut herself off from him concerning Julia, watching her as she left the parking garage, staring resolutely out of the windshield.

* * *

"Digitalis?" Ryan asked as Beckett was writing the name down on the murder board underneath the picture of the victim.

"Yeah, the episode of _The X-Files_ it was on had twin girls killing their dads with it and then the woman that created them with in-vitro fertilization. Causes seizures," Castle explained to him as Beckett remained staring at the board which by then had a picture of Julia next to a photo of her mother before her death.

"That would explain the blood pattern on our vic's face," Ryan said. "It was smeared all over her right cheek."

"Anything about family trying to fight our vic in court for custody of Julia?" Beckett asked, wondering what the woman had been thinking those last moments of her life, thinking of her daughter upstairs in the hidden room all alone.

"Nothing, actually, our vic is an orphan, I tried to dig into her family as much as I could, but no parents or even cousins, aunts or uncles," Ryan said, shaking his head as he looked over the paper he was holding. "And Julia's father is actually a man from the same orphanage that our vic grew up in, but according to the fertility clinic that she went to, he was only the donor. In vitro fertilization."

"And his family?" Castle asked. "Unless he's like the victim."

"He is," Ryan said. "Believe me, I've spent the last hour and a half trying to get as much as I could about them and their pasts, but it stops basically at them, that's all that Julia had and now…"

"So she has her father," Beckett said, thinking they had a suspect finally.

"No, I should have said first thing," Ryan said. "He passed away about six months after Julia's mother was pregnant with her, and I don't think he ever knew he was going to be a father. Not according to the few people I talked to that were old friends of his, and they were all pretty shocked that he'd had a child until they learned the circumstances exactly."

"So we're back to square one with the idea of the murder being about someone wanting custody of Julia," Beckett said in slight frustration. "Then we need to check our vic's background and see if there's anything in her past or her work that might point to why Julia led to her being killed. Espo?" she said as the detective walked up to them then.

"Found only two guys in the criminal system with scars that are next to the eye like our sketch, but both are in jail at this time so they definitely have alibis," Esposito answered.

Beckett looked back at the sketch hanging on the board and frowned deeply as she tried to think of what exactly they could do next.

"You know, maybe the killer hired-" Castle began, watching Beckett for a while before he started to talk.

"Detective Beckett," Gates said suddenly, making the four look over at her. "My office now."

Looking at her partners, Beckett quickly said, "Start looking into her past Ryan." She hurried down to Gates' office, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Julia on the other side of the table next to the couch opposite Gates' desk. "What's wrong?" she asked, noticing then the social worker who had taken Julia from the Precinct earlier.

"I'm at a loss at what to do exactly Captain," the social worker said to Gates as she closed her office door. "It's why I asked you to bring the detective here. Two hours ago I took Julia to the offices where she was going to be under my custody until such time the threat to her is over. But I have never tried to care for a child who will do absolutely nothing and refuses to interact with me."

"She's shut down then," Gates said, glancing at Julia who was looking at Beckett. "She's in shock."

"I don't think so," the social worker said. "It's more a matter of trust, and the only person she's trusting is the one she's calling by name." She turned to Beckett, who was looking at Julia around the table, and said, "Kate."

Gates looked at Beckett and saw that she was glancing down at Julia and said to the social worker, "What exactly to you propose we do?"

"I spoke with my supervisors, and we've decided the best thing would be to give temporary custody to Detective Beckett, just while the child is under threat," the social worker replied.

"Detective Beckett is my lead investigator on this case and I can't just-" Gates began.

"Actually sir," Beckett interrupted. "I wouldn't mind taking custody for now. She does know the voices of our suspects."

"That's true, but would you still be able to effectively handle the investigation along with the care of a child?" Gates asked, seeming to be surprised by Beckett's first statement.

"I would, so far all we have to go on is the vic's background and that's being looked into by Detectives Ryan and Esposito," Beckett said.

"You're right that she is a valuable witness, and if you're the only one she trusts then for now, I'll agree to this," Gates said. "However," she quickly said as Beckett smiled slightly at Julia. "If you have any conflicts with your investigation, the child will go back to social services. Is that understood detective?"

"Clearly sir," Beckett nodded.

"I just need you to sign this paper stating you're taking custody of Julia detective," the social worker then cut in, setting a sheet of paper on Gates' desk. "And it's only temporary. Once she's no longer under threat, then we'll back custody of her."

Nodding absently, Beckett quickly signed and turned to Julia saying, "I'll get her something to eat Captain, and see where exactly we are on in the investigation after."

"And will you be taking this child through the Precinct? Letting her see those pictures?" Gates asked.

"No sir, I may need to have Castle watch her then," Beckett said. "I will make sure to continue my job."

"I leave all that up to you," Gates said.

Walking over to Julia, Beckett reached out her hand and smiled when the little girl smiled back at her and took her hand. She nodded to the social worker and then led her out of the office, standing at the entry to the main room, motioning to Castle with her hand when her partners were all looking at her. "I've got temporary custody of her," she said once he had reached her.

"Hey Julia," Castle said, smiling down at her, surprised when she merely hid her face behind Beckett's hand she was clutching, peeking around at him with one eye. "So you're off the case?" he whispered to Beckett.  
"No, but she's not eating or responding to anyone," Beckett whispered, noticing that the other detectives and officers in the room were glancing over at the child. "And she keeps saying my name, so they want me to take care of her."

"And protect her," Castle said quickly. "I can't imagine anyone else more qualified." He turned and glanced at the whiteboard next to Beckett's desk and said, "The pictures are down, I told Esposito to get them off when you walked out of Gates' office. You better tell him and Ryan what you just told me."

Beckett nodded and then looked down at Julia and smiled saying, "Would you like to see my desk?"

"Kay," Julia whispered, glancing up at Castle for a moment. She followed Beckett down to her desk, hugging her Stitch doll to her tightly when she saw the people around them were watching them.

"Hi, so she's joining us?" Ryan asked once Beckett and Castle had joined them next to her desk.

"No," Beckett said, picking Julia up and setting her in her chair. "Want to look at this for a little sweetie?" she asked the child, handing her the figurine of an elephant she had on her desk. When Julia nodded, she handed it to her and while the little girl was touching the carved back she turned to her partners. She quickly explained to Ryan and Esposito what had occurred in Gates' office finishing with, "So I'm not sure if I'll be able to go out of the Precinct right now, not with her not trusting anyone."

"She trusts Castle," Esposito pointed out. "She wasn't trying to hide when he went over to you."

"We'll see if we get to that point," Beckett finally said. "I think the most important thing is you two trying to see what you can find out about our vic's background and past."

"And you and Castle?" Ryan asked.

"We need to get her something to eat," Castle said, looking at Beckett. "She's really pale."

"I know, I noticed it too," Beckett nodded. "You're welcome to join us if you find anything out."

"Great, we'll get right on it," Ryan said. "I'll check out her financial records."

"I'll call CSU and see if they found anything," Esposito said before he and Ryan went to their desks.

"Julia," Beckett said, going to her chair and kneeling down next to the child. "Are you hungry at all?" When the little girl nodded rapidly she smiled and said, "Then we can get you lunch, what would you like."

"Don't know," Julia shrugged, looking at Castle who was sitting at his chair behind Beckett.

"Do you like Chinese at all?" Beckett asked. When Julia nodded, hugging her doll to her tightly, she squeezed her hand and asked, "Then we'll order that, what do you like?"

"The orange sauce," Julia said. "And the greens."

"Orange sauce?" Beckett said in confusion. "You mean the sweet sauce?" Julia nodded and she then said, "And broccoli?" The little girl nodded again so she stood up and took out her cell phone. "I'll grab some extra for Ryan and Esposito," she said to Castle. "In the meantime, can you find Lanie's report we brought back? I want to take a look at the levels for the…" she trailed off, glancing at Julia.

"No, I know what you mean," Castle said quickly, getting up and looking through the papers on Beckett's desk before he found what he was looking for. As she went to the side of her desk as she called in the order, he glanced at Julia as she hopped down from the chair and went to the whiteboard. "Julia," he asked as the child stood as close to Beckett as she could, looking up at the whiteboard intently. "Can you read?"

Looking at Castle with wide eyes, it took Julia a moment before she slowly shook her head.

"Oh, what are you looking at?" Castle asked in relief.

"I know letters," Julia replied softly, burying her face into her doll as soon as she had spoken.

"That's pretty good," Castle said. "Do you know any written here?"

"I know d and a, and j too," Julia replied as Beckett hung up her phone.

"Any others?" Beckett asked, having half listened to the conversation as she'd been on the phone.

"Lots," Julia said, hurrying the few steps in between her and Beckett and wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Okay, we better take her to the other room," Beckett said to Castle, gently stroking the child's hair as she could feel her trembling a little. She led the way to the room in the back and set Julia on a chair before she sat down next to her. "Where did your crayons and paper go sweetie?" she asked.

"I don't know," Julia said, looking down at her doll and smoothing the tuft of hair on the top of its head.

"She had it in Gates' office," Beckett said. "I'll be right back."

Castle watched as she left, and then turned to Julia, seeing that the little girl was watching Beckett and looking like she was going to run after her to catch up with her. He glanced over at his girlfriend and knew that their conversation concerning Julia was likely going to be a long time in coming. While she was taking care of Julia and working on the case, she would be even more reluctant to share her emotions. He only hoped that once the time Beckett's custody of Julia finished, there wouldn't be any serious emotional problems for either Beckett or Julia if she wasn't going to admit what the little girl meant to her after only a few hours of knowing her. He smiled at Julia then and when she smiled slightly at him, he had the feeling that she wasn't likely going to be out of Beckett's, or his life for that matter, any time soon.

* * *

"Anything left or did you guys take it all?" Esposito said as he and Ryan walked into the room where Beckett, Castle and Julia were eating lunch, the little girl giggling softly at Castle trying to offer her doll his spring roll.

"Some," Castle said as Beckett stood up after rubbing Julia's back. "Think you'll be okay with Espo?" he asked the little girl.

"I'll give your friend here some of my mu shu pork," Esposito said to put the child at ease, gesturing to her doll. Luckily Julia nodded slightly and he nodded to Castle as he stood up.

"What'd you find?" Castle asked after he joined Beckett and Ryan just outside the doorway to the room.

"Money, and a lot of it," Ryan replied. "About three million in three years all together."

"From where? Her job?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"That's what I was about to tell you," Ryan said. "There's nothing that indicates she had a job outside the home. I called CSU to get a hold of her computer and see what they can find, anything related to money."

"Was there any kind of name to the deposits?" Castle asked.

"Just FS," Ryan said. "And I tried, the best I could, to find out what exactly that stands for, but I kept running into a dead end."

"Offshore company?" Beckett suggested as she glanced at Julia.

"Everything's legit, as far as I could see. I did place a call to the Feds, to see if they have anything on the company name, but they didn't have a thing about FS," Ryan said.

"And her background besides financial?" Beckett asked.

"Nothing except for Julia," Ryan said. He hesitated slightly as Castle and Beckett looked at him in bewilderment and then he finally said, "She kept her pretty much locked up in the house. Nothing to do with abuse," he quickly added as Beckett opened her mouth to speak. "Just for protection. I saw money, a lot of money for the hidden room in her closet, a safe which CSU I believe is trying to open now since Espo called them about the vic's papers. But she also had a tutor; a former preschool teacher for Julia so she wouldn't have to leave the house for school. And even a private ballet teacher for her as well. Actually, a lot of the people in the neighborhood after you came out mentioned that they had no idea there was a kid living at that home, they just thought it was our vic there."

"Any staff she kept on?" Castle asked, as Beckett covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at Julia.

"Nothing, she seems to have taken care of everything herself," Ryan answered. "She was expecting this, likely since Julia was born because the hidden room was actually built when she was six months old."

"And what about doctors, anything about her hiring them?" Beckett asked, turning back to them.

"She had a doctor that paid house calls," Ryan said. "A dentist too."

"What exactly was the reason she knew her daughter was going to be kidnapped?" Castle said as Beckett walked out a little away from them and the room.

"I think at this point we're going to need to look at the attackers if we try and answer that," Beckett said, not turning around. "Was Esposito able to look at any murders involving digitalis?"

"Espo," Ryan called into the room.

"Yeah?" Esposito asked as Beckett turned around and walked over to them before quickly glancing at Julia, smiling slightly as the little girl glanced at them.

"Did you look into any past digitalis deaths?" Beckett asked softly.

"I did," Esposito answered. "Nothing that was a murder though, everything was basically accidental, kids eating foxglove flowers… that kind of thing."

"We have nothing," Beckett said in frustration under her breath. "And without anyone in custody, Julia hearing the attackers in the house is going to be pointless."

"We can try and dig further into that FS name," Ryan said. "Maybe try the CIA?"

"That might be going too far, but save it for a last resort," Beckett said. "Were you able to see where the company, if it's a company, or a person, whatever it is, is here in the US?"

"It is," Ryan said. "You want me to try and check companies with those initials?"

"If you can. I get the feeling its name is just those two letters though," Beckett said. "I think we only have one thing right now that's a solid lead."

"The digitalis," Castle said, to Beckett's nod. "You know, it might not be that easy to make it into a powder by hand, so maybe there could be a recent purchase of a large amount. Could be this isn't the first murder we'll see with a knife coated in this stuff; it could have been overlooked in an investigation."

"I can take a look at that, see if any pharmacies or stores sell that," Esposito said. "And I'll look at our vic's papers too once CSU can get them all to me."

"Finish lunch first, I have the feeling this'll be a long, very long night," Beckett said. She went back into the room when she heard running behind her and turned to see an aide coming up to them.

"Detective Beckett?" the woman said. "Captain Gates wants to see you and Mr. Castle in her office; she says it's an emergency."

Looking at Castle, Beckett rushed out of the room and over to Gates' office with him following behind. She hurried inside as the captain was hanging up on her phone and asked, "What is it sir?"

"I just got a call from the social services office where Julia was taken earlier today," Gates said. "They were just attacked by three men, a few workers shot, all of them being asked where Julia O'Malley was."

Beckett's eyes went wide and she turned to Castle who was standing next to her. "Was anyone killed?" she asked, trying not to run out of the office and grab Julia to hide her.

"No, but the social worker who had custody of Julia before she was turned over to you was shot in the leg after she repeatedly told her attackers that she had no clue where Julia was," Gates said. "I was just talking to her before she went in for surgery to reconstruct her knee, she insisted that I be apprised of what happened, they likely found out the child is here with that paper you signed for temporary custody detective."

"Then they'll be coming here next," Castle said.

"It's likely, you'll need to take her out of the Precinct Detective Beckett, and hide her," Gates said.

"Where exactly can I go, they'll be on the lookout for us," Beckett said.

"I can have you return to your home with her, and set up an armed guard for the time being," Gates said. "Take her out of here quietly, only one car, and remain there while we wait here for them to see if they did figure out you've been given custody of her." She was going to continue when her phone rang and she quickly answered it, talking shortly with the person on the other end. "Okay, we've got a break," she said once she had hung up. "According to the social worker, she forgot to file the paper you signed taking custody of Julia and it's still in her bag according to the responding officers at the scene. And no one informed the three men where Julia is. So we have the advantage, but I want that child out of the Precinct and under a full armed guard."

"What about the crime scene at social services sir?" Beckett asked.

"Detectives Esposito and Ryan can take over the case for the remainder of today and tomorrow if it's necessary," Gates said. "Julia O'Malley needs to be able to ID the suspects and the only way she will be safe is with you detective, you're worth more to this investigation with her, Mr. Castle, you will be joining Detective Beckett."

"Of course sir," Castle said quickly, earning him a glance from Beckett.

"I'll call in a guard detail to your building, tell Esposito and Ryan that I want them at the crime scene once you and the child are safely at your home," Gates said, picking up the phone.

"Yes sir," Beckett said, before she turned and almost ran out of the office, Castle behind her. "You didn't really fight her decision to send you home with me," she commented to him.

"It's not a problem, Julia's the key and I want to help you," Castle said simply.

"Julia," Beckett said, smiling widely at her as she saw the little girl was curled up in Castle's chair next to her desk. "Sweetie, how would you like to see my home right now?" She smiled and stroked Julia's hair gently before saying, "I just need to talk to my friends really fast and then we'll go okay?" She stood up and motioned to Ryan and Esposito by the whiteboard and hurriedly whispered to them the conversation in Gates' office.

"I'll get a car ready to go," Esposito said quickly once she had finished speaking, rushing to the stairs.

"Does she want you to stop investigating completely?" Ryan asked Beckett as she watched Castle sitting on her chair.

"Hey, never really get to sit here that much," Castle said, smiling a little at Julia who was looking at him around the doll she had her face pressed up against. "Beckett, Kate, doesn't usually let other people sit here, so you're pretty lucky. That's usually my chair." He was surprised when Julia started to get up and he said quickly, "No, no, it's okay Julia, I'm glad you're sitting there, I can sit here for a little."

"Okay, I need to pack up my things and then we can go," Beckett said. "I'll look into the digitalis records while I'm at home with her," she whispered to Castle as he stood up.

"Anything I can really do?" Castle asked.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said, hurriedly throwing some paperwork from the case into her bag. "Once we get to my place and I'm a little calmer I can answer that better." She closed the bag securely and then went to Julia, picking her up out of her chair. "We need to hurry sweetie, are you ready?" When she nodded she turned to grab the bag the social worker had brought earlier, with some of Julia's clothes from home, before she saw that Castle had grabbed it and her own bag as well. "Okay, let's go," she said, and she hurried after Ryan down the aisle to the elevator.

Down in the parking structure for the Precinct, Esposito had a car waiting and running, Castle and Beckett sitting in the back with Julia in between them as Ryan got into the passenger seat. The four looked around them furtively as they left, trying to see anything suspicious around the car.

"You okay?" Beckett asked Julia softly when they were nearing her building. She smiled at the little girl when she nodded slowly in response, her green eyes wide and she held her against her tightly.

A few minutes later they reached the underground parking garage of Beckett's building, and the team rushed into the elevator with Julia, going up to her floor. Inside Beckett's apartment, Ryan called the undercover policemen that were stationed in the lobby of the building, letting them know that they had arrived. Esposito contacted the two officers in a car, staking out the entrance to the parking garage and was told that no suspicious cars had been tailing them as they'd entered.

"Looks like we're good," Ryan said. "We'll call you once we go over the crime scene at social services and if we turn up anything."

Beckett closed the door to the entry of her apartment, glancing at Julia who was walking over to her picture that was next to her couch, and turned to the other two detectives. "Ask any eyewitnesses if there was a man with a scar, we might be dealing with more than three guys. And also if they were able to get more of an ID than at the brownstone earlier today," she told them.

"We will, keep that kid safe Beckett," Esposito said.

"We'll look into FS as soon as we're back at the Precinct," Ryan said. "And we'll try and talk to the social worker since she heard one of them speak."

Beckett nodded as the two men left and closed the door behind her before she leaned against it, looking up at Castle. "I'm not sure I can do this," she said as they stared at each other.

"Julia?" Castle asked. When Beckett nodded he was about to speak, when she cut him off.

"I've never really taken care of a child like this before," Beckett said, looking through the door at Julia who was looking up at her picture closely. "Starting with something to keep her occupied while we're working."

"I can go get something," Castle said. "What about food, or milk, that I can get too."

"I'm going to need it," Beckett said. "I wasn't expecting to take a four year old girl into my home today," she smiled slightly as he squeezed her hand tightly. "But I'm happy to do it; I don't think I really would be comfortable knowing she was with someone else."

"I'm not surprised. I'll make a run to a market," Castle said. "And I'll be careful," he said when Beckett started to speak. "I know, I can't let anyone tail me, I'll keep an eye out." He kissed her quickly and then left, hearing Beckett locking the door behind him as he hurried down the hall to the elevator.

After she walked out of her entryway, Beckett saw Julia was staring up at her picture still, and she realized it might be traumatizing to the little girl. She rushed over, and carefully turned her around asking, "That doesn't scare you at all?"

"No, it's pretty," Julia said, turning back to look at it. "Who is she?"

"Just a woman," Beckett said, smiling at her. "Come here, sit with me okay?"

"This is where you live?" Julia asked as Beckett sat her down on the couch and then joined her. "Oh, this is pretty," she said, touching the Union Jack pillow she was next to. "I've seen this, it's from where Paul is from, and The Beatles too."

"That is their flag," Beckett said, relieved the little girl seemed more open than she had been at the Precinct. "Who's Paul Julia?"

"He's one of The Beatles; I love his songs, my mommy…" Julia began before her eyes filled with tears and she started to cry.

Beckett quickly hugged Julia to her, stroking her hair gently, wondering if Julia was going to be effected psychologically with the death of her mother and her understanding the concept of it. She was startled to realize that she wanted to try and help her get over that, something she was aware that was going to take a longer amount of time than just a temporary custody order from social services. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind and tried to comfort Julia, remembering how the name Paul had triggered a question she wanted to ask her. She pulled the little girl onto her lap and held her tightly, trying to calm her tears the best she could, feeling; a little unsettlingly; as if she'd been doing that for years.

* * *

"How is she?" Castle asked as he walked into Beckett's apartment when she had opened the door for him.

"She ran screaming behind the couch when you knocked," Beckett said, looking a little harried. "You were gone a while."

"I needed to get something to keep her busy," Castle reminded her, putting some bags on her kitchen counter. "And maybe you can get her out with these," he said, handing her some coloring books and crayons.  
"Great, thank you," Beckett said in relief, squeezing his arm. "Esposito and Ryan called while you were gone but I wanted to wait until you were here and they try and speak to the social worker in the hospital before we discuss the case." She took the books and crayons and went over to the couch saying, "It was just my friend Castle sweetie, he actually brought you something you can do while we do some work. It's okay to come out now."

Peeking around the back of the couch, Julia saw that Castle was in the kitchen and she looked at Beckett, seeing that she was holding crayons and coloring books. She walked out when she saw the character her doll was on the cover of one and took it into her hands.

"Why don't you color here?" Beckett suggested, carefully leading the little girl to the coffee table in front of the couch. "I'll be in my office; you'll be able to see me." She then motioned to Castle and together they went to the other room, keeping an eye on Julia who was staring to color. "Ryan," she said once she had dialed his number on her phone. "Castle's here with me, what do you and Espo have?"

"Well at the crime scene we checked out the security footage, and it's obvious they staked out the place in advance," Ryan said. "They got in there like SEAL Team Six, shooting the guard in the arm and the receptionist, but luckily she just got winged in the shoulder and was able to talk to us. She said one of them had a scar."

"Crescent shaped? They must have staked out where they knew Julia would go if they couldn't find her. They planned for that," Castle said.

"So they knew she didn't have anyone by the way of family," Esposito said on the other end. "Social services actually confirmed it for us when we were interviewing some people. They searched after you were given custody of her Beckett, and she has absolutely no one."

"Our vic might have someone in her will," Beckett said. "If she knew this might happen she could have given custody of Julia to someone there, a friend possibly," she said, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach before she pushed the sensation aside.

"I'll check with CSU," Esposito said.

"Were they able to get anything from the other two men?" Beckett asked.

"Nothing, they took care to cover their faces," Ryan replied.

"Just called CSU," Esposito said suddenly. "They have a will, but she has specific instructions on the outside of the packaging it's in that it can only be opened by her lawyer, a Janet Roy."

"Get the will over to her as soon as you can," Beckett said. "Our vic could have left a clue for us about the killer and attackers. And the rest of the paperwork they found?"

"They said it was just basic things like birth certificates, bank statements, nothing out of the ordinary," Esposito said. "But I asked them to send over the statements in case there's anything that can clue us in on FS."

"Great, I'll be looking into the digitalis after we finish here," Beckett said. "But back to the social services shooting, the woman who took Julia from her home… Victoria Knowles?"

"She was heavily drugged, we couldn't talk to her," Ryan replied.

"Try to speak with her tomorrow Ryan," Beckett said. "For now we focus on the paperwork and the digitalis." After she and Castle said goodbye to the two detectives she sighed as she looked at him. "It's just dead end after dead end."

"Not the first time we've come up against that," Castle said. He grabbed Beckett's arm before she could turn to her computer and said, "Her mother probably didn't leave custody to anyone. It doesn't look like she had any friends along with family."

"I know," Beckett said, glancing behind her. Julia was touching the arms on her doll she had set next to her on the coffee table, and she smiled slightly before she looked at Castle.

"Bad time to talk?" he asked. "Okay, I was expecting that," he said when she nodded slightly and he let her go. "So what will you check first?"

"First I'd like to find out if it's really that easy to make powdered digitalis on your own," Beckett replied.

"It might be, it's just a plant. I was just guessing when I said that earlier," Castle said as he sat in front of her desk as she sat at her computer. "But we'll have to check it out. I don't really get the feeling these guys are botanists though."

"Neither do I, but I have to see," Beckett replied as she searched the name of the drug into her computer. She came up with a site that had a step by step process and said, "Apparently it's easy, but making enough for a large dose; at least the one that was on the knife that killed our vic; had to come from at least ten plants."

"Gonna check nurseries?" Castle asked, leaning over the desk as she typed some more.

"I am," Beckett said absently, looking closely at the screen. "Nothing in the immediate area." She typed again and then shook her head saying, "There've been some large purchases of foxglove, but companies mainly. And I checked, no FS on anything."

"Try some Chinatown stores," Castle suggested. "They might sell it."

"And some apothecaries," Beckett said. "They sell natural medicines. I'll search again for larger purchases." She typed on the keyboard and then shook her head, sitting back in her chair. "Nothing, absolutely nothing," she said, her voice tinged with frustration.

"How far did you search?" Castle asked, going around to look at the screen, seeing there was a list for a store in Trenton, New Jersey open on it.

"Far, into New Jersey," Beckett replied. "The thing is this substance is so rare that there hasn't been anyone buying any. And what I've seen is in small quantities and with cash."

"And it looks like a long time ago too, so no one would really be able to ID anyone," Castle said, sounding frustrated as well. "There's not much we can do until we get that will opened and the papers she had in her home searched."

"Until then," Beckett sighed, closing the computer screen. "I'll give a call to Ryan and Espo; let them know we've exhausted everything here."

"Wait," Castle said quickly. "What about globally?"

"I thought of that, but the search came up blank for digitalis, anywhere in the world, it's illegal to ship it in," Beckett replied.

"Then maybe someone smuggled it in," Castle pointed out.

"True," Beckett said quickly, realizing he was right. "I can make a call to Customs, see if they've had anyone recently smuggling in foxglove or digitalis." She got out of her chair and hurriedly dialed a number, feeling Castle squeeze her arm before he stepped past her. "Yes, this is Detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD," she said a little absently as she recited her badge number from memory, looking over to see that he was looking at Julia. "Yes, I need some information for a murder investigation, if there's been any recent activity of smuggling the plant foxglove or else the herbal substance digitalis… yes I realize that foxglove is legal, but anything in large quantities? Of either material."

Castle turned back to Beckett when she said, "Alright, thank you for your help, bye." Once she had hung up the phone he asked, "Nothing?"

"Nothing, so we're still at a dead end," Beckett said. "I can't think of another angle to look at in this case."

"Well," Castle said. "Maybe we should let Ryan and Esposito finish looking at what they can and come back at the case tomorrow. I'm finding myself out of ideas."

"Really? I find that hard to believe," Beckett said with a smile, sitting on the edge of her desk. "I was half expecting you to try and fit in the plot of that episode of _The X-Files_ you keep talking about to this case."

"If I could have I would," Castle said. "But it would mean the killer was actually… better I not say anything," he said before stopping himself.

Frowning, since she recalled him saying earlier that the plot had twin girls the killers of their fathers, Beckett stood up and went to the doorway to her office, looking at Julia who was sitting, leaning back against the couch. "You okay?" she asked as she hurried over to the little girl, sitting on the floor next to her and hugging her to her.

"Yeah, I got scared," Julia said, scooting closer to Beckett and wrapping one arm around her. "Do I stay here now? Or are they taking me to somewhere?"

"For now you're staying here sweetie," Beckett replied softly. She quickly changed the subject then, knowing the little girl was thinking of how she had been constantly moved from place to place that day when she had spent all four years of her life in her mother's brownstone home. "Are you finished coloring?" she then asked as Julia hugged her with both arms, glancing up at Castle who had remained in the doorway to her office.

Nodding, Julia glanced over at Castle as Beckett looked over her drawing and she pressed a little closer to her.

"Should I go?" Castle asked.

"No, it's alright, he can sit here with us right?" Beckett asked Julia, motioning to the armchair across from them. When the little girl nodded slightly she smiled and said, "Thank you." Once he was sitting down, she remembered something and said, "Julia, do you know if your mother had any boyfriends?"

"What's that?" Julia asked in nearly a whisper, glancing at Castle a little warily again.

"Well, it's a man who-" Beckett started to say.

"No, no, no!" Julia cried. "They were bad men."

"Who?" Castle asked, surprised at her outburst.

"All of them, all the men there are my mommy said," Julia replied, curling up in Beckett's arms. "She didn't like them."

"So before today, no man was ever at your house?" Beckett then asked, trying to speak as gently as possible to calm the child down.

"No, they were always girls," Julia said. "Mommy said I cannot trust them."

"Some you can Julia," Beckett replied, glancing at Castle. "Castle is a good man, so are Detectives Ryan and Esposito, the men that I work with."

"They don't scare you? Mommy said men do bad things to girls," Julia said, visibly trembling by then.

"Things like what?" Beckett asked, terrified that something had happened to Julia.

"Mommy won't say, she said not to talk to them, but I never saw any before up close," Julia said, looking down at her doll absently then. "Just outside the window upstairs."

Glancing at Castle, Beckett said quietly, "Your mother was right, some men can be bad, but Julia, there are some men who are nice and will never do anything to little girls."

"Is Castle one of them?" Julia whispered, though he still heard what she had said.

"He is," Beckett assured her. "You know he has a daughter himself."

"He does?" Julia asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I do," Castle said then, not wanting to enter the conversation until he absolutely had to. "Her name is Alexis, she's actually in college now, but I'm sure she'd like to meet you one day."

Julia smiled and looked at her doll shyly before she hugged it to her.

"Are you hungry at all?" Beckett then asked. When Julia nodded she set her on the ground and stood up. "We'll make dinner, but I'm going to take a second to talk with Castle okay?" She took his hand then and pulled him out of the chair, taking him to the entryway and slightly closing the door. "She kept her a prisoner. What kind of mother would do that?" she whispered heatedly, looking out at Julia who was looking at her coloring books. "I know she was right, her paranoia, but still, between shrinking my child's world to my home versus letting her have as normal a childhood even with the threat hanging over her…"

"You'd pick the latter," Castle finished for her. When Beckett nodded he said, "I was going to ask her if she had any friends, maybe they could take her in once we catch the killer and attackers, but I doubt she'd have even one. Maybe just that doll."

"Yeah, she's going to need a lot of help," Beckett said, shaking her head slightly. "If she goes into foster care…" She then turned to Castle and said, "We should get dinner started, I don't want her going hungry again."

Castle followed her out to the kitchen, knowing that something was going through Beckett's mind then. He already had an idea of what it might be, but didn't want to push her on the subject, knowing she would shut down if he asked. He helped her start out the meal, both of them glancing at Julia once in a while, wondering what would happen to the child once they solved the case and she was free from any future threats.

* * *

"I can head over to the Precinct and see if Ryan or Esposito got the victim's papers," Castle was saying later on that night as he was preparing to leave. "We can start taking a look at them tomorrow here."

"I don't like this," Beckett sighed, closing the door to the entryway slightly. "I'd rather be working from the Precinct, but I can't trust anyone at this moment with Julia."

"I could try and figure something out," Castle said. "I actually have an idea about that, because I agree, I want to be at the Precinct."

"Want to share it with me at all?" Beckett asked in confusion when he didn't say anything else.

"Once I get it figured out," Castle said, putting on his jacket. "I'll give you a call in the morning."

"Right, I'll try and look into the digitalis again before you come over," Beckett said. "Or I might look at the copies of the vic's financial records; see if we might have missed something." She shrugged when Castle started to open his mouth to speak and said, "I know, Ryan and Espo got all they could, but I want to make double sure since we don't have anything; except for that will."

"She probably left something in there," Castle assured her.

"Let's hope our vic's lawyer gets here quickly," Beckett said, referencing the call she'd gotten from Ryan as they'd been eating. Their partner had been able to contact the victim's lawyer, who had been on vacation in Hawaii. She was going to be on the first flight out of Honolulu that she could catch, likely not until the next afternoon, heading back to NYC as she was the only lawyer at her firm who was authorized to open the will in the case of the victim's death.

"It's about ten hours from here," Castle said. "But we'll see the will." He started to speak, and hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "You think she ended leaving custody of Julia to someone?" It wasn't what he meant to say, but knew she wouldn't answer if he had asked if she was afraid custody of Julia was given to someone specific.

"I don't know, I doubt it," Beckett said, not looking at him. "No one's come forward to get her. And her mother kept them pretty isolated too, not many friends to leave her to; like you said before."

"I'll be back tomorrow," Castle then said quickly, as he could see she was starting to withdraw from the question. He put his hands on her arms to get Beckett to look at him, and he glanced out in the apartment to see that Julia was sitting on the couch, looking to be occupied with her doll again. He then leaned down and kissed Beckett tenderly before she wrapped her arms around him and they deepened the kiss at the same time. "We'll figure this out," he said when they finally parted.

"We will," Beckett said with a nod, knowing that was meant to reassure both of them, not just her. "See you tomorrow." She smiled when Castle squeezed her hand and then walked down the hall. She watched him until he was out of sight, and then locked the door securely. When she turned around, she was started to see that Julia was peering around the chair in front of the kitchen counter. She had the feeling the child had seen her and Castle kiss, but she smiled at her and said, "Are you tired sweetie?"

"Little," Julia whispered, looking a little perplexed. She raised her arms up to Beckett and let her pick her up, carrying her over to the room she would be using. "How come you kissed Castle like that?"

Beckett was silent, not sure how exactly she wanted to answer that, or if she should, since she and Castle were still trying to hide their relationship from everyone at work. "Julia," she said then, grasping for something else to talk about as she decided it would probably be best to ignore the question. "Do you have any friends at all?"

"Stitch," Julia said, the question making her forget her question about what she'd seen. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," Beckett said, setting her down on the bed. "Let's get you changed."

After Beckett had changed Julia into the pajamas that had been placed with the girl's other clothing, she got her ready to sleep; thanking Castle in her mind for getting a kids' toothbrush for her earlier. She tucked the little girl into the bed a few minutes later, and stroked her hair gently, watching as Julia's eyes eventually lowered and stayed closed. She stood up and went to the doorway as carefully as she possibly could, looking back from the doorway. She sighed slightly as she turned off the light, and hurried out to her office, going on her computer.

Dialing on her cell phone, Beckett was put on hold a few times and redirected, before she was finally got a voice mail. "Mrs. Perkins, this is Detective Kate Beckett from the NYPD, I was given temporary custody of Julia O'Malley this afternoon. When you are available, I'd appreciate it if you could give me call. I would like to discuss the steps I would need to take to file to adopt Julia. Thank you," she said quickly before she could lose her resolve. She hung up and closed her eyes tightly, wondering how exactly things would change in her life with that phone call.

Changing for bed after that, Beckett sat at her computer for a while, trying to look into the digitalis records that she had found, but was unable to focus on the screen. She finally gave up after twenty minutes of reading the same page twice and having the numbers and words blur together. She went to the doorway to the room Julia was in, watching the child before she forced herself to go to her room and she laid down, thinking in her mind what exactly she would do raising a four year old child.

Shaking her head, she chided herself for thinking too far ahead and so optimistically, it was unlikely that she would get custody of Julia on a permanent basis, especially with her line of her work. Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep when a scream made her sit up. "Julia?" she said, throwing back the covers and running to the room. "What's wrong?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed, taking the little girl who was sobbing into her doll into her arms.

"It was dark, they were shouting they were gonna get me," Julia cried, grabbing onto Beckett tightly. "And then they ran and chased me in my house and they got me."

"Shh, it's okay," Beckett said tenderly as she kissed the top of her head. "They're not here and they won't be able to get here either. Let me show you something," she said as she stood up with Julia in her arms. She carried her out to the main room and opened the blinds slightly. "See that car right there? With the two people inside?" she asked, motioning to a black car that had some movement in it. When the girl nodded she said, "They're police officers watching to make sure no one comes in."

"Will they stay there all night?" Julia asked.

"Yes, and there are two police officers in the lobby too," Beckett said. "They're watching who comes in very closely. So we're safe here Julia, I promise."

"Kay," Julia said. She then wrapped her arms around Beckett's neck and asked, "Can I sleep in your bed?"

"Yes," Beckett said instantly, carrying her to her room. She helped her under the covers and then pulled her against her as the child snuggled closely to her side. "Get some sleep okay, I won't let anyone hurt you Julia," she said softly, stroking her hair. She was relieved when Julia nodded and fell asleep shortly after.

Beckett leaned down and kissed the top of her head, knowing that she was somehow, inexorably bound to the little girl, and her life was going to be changed forever, whether or not she was able to adopt her. She closed her eyes then, focusing her thoughts on the case, to try and forget the emotional parts of that day; ever since she had seen Julia come out of the hidden room. She reminded herself that to help Julia, she needed to find the killer and attackers, before they could hurt the child. With that thought she hugged Julia closer to her, the surge of protectiveness that rushed through at the thought startling her, and making her more determined than before to find the killer.


	4. In The Dead Of Night

Watching Julia spin around in front of her, Beckett smiled and said, "I was right, you are good at that."

"You think so?" Julia said, her cheeks red from embarrassment. "I never danced for anyone before."

"Yeah, I wouldn't lie," Beckett replied. "Come here," she said, pulling her onto her lap where she was sitting on her couch. "How are you feeling sweetie?"

"Okay, I'm sorry I woke you up," Julia said shyly, covering her mouth with her shirt.

"I wasn't asleep then," Beckett reassured her. "And even if you did it's okay, I don't want you to be scared." She was surprised when the little girl looked out the window and she let her go, watching as Julia sat on her knees, leaning against the back of the couch. "It's pretty isn't it?"

"Yeah, I never saw buildings so tall in real life!" Julia said, looking around the buildings that were around them. "It's cool!"

Beckett smiled; rubbing Julia's back gently, thinking back on the past twenty four hours since she had met the child. After her nightmare, Julia had slept the entire night through without any incident, and she herself had gotten a glimpse of what to expect should her actions earlier that morning before the child had gotten up came to fruition. Julia had suddenly become a fussy eater for breakfast, until she had let her eat just an apple, and she had to wonder exactly how mothers were able to handle their children. She shook herself as she thought that, a little startled what she had just said to herself in her mind. Luckily there was a knock on her door and she was shaken from her thoughts as Julia let out a short scream and ran behind the couch.

"Don't open the door," Julia sobbed as Beckett walked to the door.

"It's okay," Beckett said, looking through the peephole to see who it was. "Alexis?" she said after she had opened the door to find Castle with his daughter on the other side.

"Oh, well, if I'm not welcome…" Alexis joked, starting to turn.

"No, no, I just wasn't expecting you," Beckett said quickly, grabbing her arm. "Come inside, please," stepping aside to let the two in.

"I thought maybe bringing Alexis would help calm Julia down when she saw me," Castle said. "How is she?"

"She was opening up a little before you knocked," Beckett said. She looked at Alexis and said, "You probably don't know-"

"No, my dad told my gram and me about Julia and everything with her," Alexis said. "Where is she? I wanted to meet her."

"She's… here," Beckett said, walking towards the couch but stopped seeing the bright blue shirt that Julia had chosen from her clothes behind the kitchen counter. "Julia, sweetie, it's okay, it's just Castle, and he brought his daughter with him to see you." She took her hand and gently pulled her out to Castle and Alexis.

"Hi," Alexis said with a smile as she looked at the little girl clutching a stuffed animal. "My name's Alexis, you're Julia huh?"

Julia nodded, and glanced up shyly at Alexis before she pressed her face into Beckett's leg, wrapping one arm around her. "You have pretty hair," she whispered, looking at Alexis out of the corner of her eye and then pressing her face against Beckett again.

"Thanks," Alexis said, smiling back at Castle. "Oh! My dad said you liked Stitch, so he got you this," she said then, turning to her father and taking the movie that he handed her. "This is for you."

"Stitch!" Julia cried out happily as she ran over to Alexis and took the case. "Thank you."

"You know, this movie looks pretty interesting, Stitch and Lilo both look so cute," Alexis said.

"I got a coloring book with them. Want to see?" Julia asked. When Alexis nodded she reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the coffee table where her coloring books from the day before still were.

"Amazing," Beckett said as she walked over to where Castle was still standing. She smiled as she watched Julia and Alexis looking over the coloring book and then turned to him. "You really bought the movie for her?"

"I did, and that's why I had to explain to my mother and Alexis about Julia, they wondered why on earth I had a cartoon in my hand going home last night," Castle said, putting his hand on her back then. "And I also asked Alexis to come because I thought it would be good for her to meet someone else."

"I see, not because you want her to make Julia a little more receptive to you?" Beckett asked with a slight smile on her lips.

"No, of course not," Castle said. "Both reasons actually." He smiled when Beckett rolled her eyes and he said, "How is she really?"

"Okay, she's a little prone to crying when she's alone," Beckett said. "I think it reminds her of the hidden room and her mother. But she's slowly, slowly opening up to me as I was saying earlier. She actually showed me a couple ballet moves she learned before you knocked. Said she's never danced in front of other people. I'm guessing only her teacher saw her dance before this… maybe her mother." She then shook her head and said, "She should be dancing with other little girls her age, making friends, not alone and terrified to show even me what she's learned."

"Hopefully after this case she will," Castle said, studying her face closely.

Beckett glanced at him and then said, "I have some things from Espo and Ryan," walking over to her office. "I'll be over here Julia," she said, smiling at the little girl reassuringly when she looked up at her worriedly.

"He's nice," Alexis said as Julia hugged her doll to her as Castle followed Beckett into the next room. "My dad," she said as the little girl looked at her. "He won't hurt B- Kate," she corrected herself. "They've been working together for a long time." She hesitated then, wondering if she should mention their relationship, but then decided against it, deciding to leave it to Beckett if she wanted the little girl to know. "Why don't you color Lilo's dress another color?" she said, to distract Julia as she was glancing at the office again.

"Okay, so Espo called and let me know that the lawyer made her flight just before you got here," Beckett said. "But I checked online and it's been delayed for a half hour so she'll be getting here incredibly early tomorrow morning."

"Of course," Castle said with a nod. "Did they talk to the social worker?"

"She was still a little groggy, but they managed to interview her," Beckett said. "And she was terrified something had happened to me and Julia. Look." She turned to her compter and began a video file that was already queued up to play.

Castle watched with wide eyes as three men burst into what he guessed was the lobby of the social services building, one man behind the other two slightly raising a gun and shooting the guard that was standing up from a chair in the arm. The receptionist was shot through the small opening of the bulletproof partition in front of her, but she had begun to duck out of the way, so she was only grazed. "He's a sharpshooter," he said, looking at Beckett as the clip ended.

"And a good one, he was a good seventy feet back from the partition," Beckett said. "And with that formation they're in here…" she pointed at the two men ahead of the shooter. "They knew what they needed to get, and it wasn't Julia. If they were-"

"We'd be dealing with at least two homicides," Castle finished. When Beckett nodded he watched in surprise as she opened another clip. "Knowles?" he asked.

"The building's heavily monitored, they do house children there," Beckett replied, looking at the screen as she pressed play. She and Castle watched as the social worker jumped up from her desk, and then ran to a door behind her but was shot from behind in the knee before she could get very far. The shooter turned her around once reaching her and there was obviously an argument, as he shook the woman violently before letting her go and running out of the shot. "She managed not to tell him where Julia was, even with her knee pretty much gone and him threatening to kill her," she commented, closing the clip.

"Is she okay?" Castle asked as he watched Beckett sit heavily in her chair.

"They managed to reconstruct what was left of her knee, but whether or not she'll be able to walk again is the question," Beckett said, rubbing her cheek absently. "There's more to this than just Julia being able to ID them," she mused.

"I know, but what exactly…" Castle said before he trailed off. "We'll find out, we just need to open that will. Did she get anything about the shooter?"

"Not much, he had an accent, Spanish she thought but she wasn't sure as she was in a lot of pain at the time," Beckett said. "And that's the only time they spoke, to her. So we have nothing, again."

"Did Ryan look at the vic's papers?" Castle then asked as they glanced over at Alexis and Julia who were still coloring.

"He did," Beckett sighed. "She was storing away money for her daughter. There's a paper, a copy, I'm assuming the original's in the will; that the money is for Julia and her college fund. She knew she was going to die Castle." She shook her head and rubbed her forehead saying, "She was planning for her daughter's education, a list of private schools was with her papers, ballet schools, a note that if Julia continued to dance to send her to Julliard. It's as if she was telling whoever gets custody of her after her death how she wants that woman to raise her."

"Woman?" Castle asked, not surprised to hear the emotion in Beckett's voice.

"Yes, never a mention of a married couple, just a woman," Beckett replied, pulling up some documents on her screen. " _To whosoever reads this in the event of my death_ ," she read. " _I will assume that you are the woman who the court has decided will take care of my daughter Julia Claire O'Malley. Know that I tried my absolute best to protect her by trying to keep her shielded from the world. You may damn my methods, but there was no other way to save her. Love her like I never was able to, being the reason she was in so much danger. Raise her to not make the same mistakes that I myself made. And protect her, as I have failed to do_." She sat back in her chair and shook her head. "I'm assuming she was intending for the woman to read that after the case was solved, it's incredibly vague."

Castle watched as Beckett put her fingers to her lips and stared at the letter for a minute before she stood up and walked to him, looking away from him. "Was this a copy or the original?" he finally asked, not sure what exactly he could say to her.

"No, it's the original," Beckett replied. "And it wasn't in that safe they're having trouble cracking."

"They haven't opened it yet?" Castle asked in surprise.

"Not yet," Beckett said. "They're going to get someone to break into it. That was when Ryan called me."

"Anything else in her papers?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett replied. "No checks… nothing like that. Basically everything was for Julia."

"And absolutely no friends?" Castle said.

Beckett shook her head and sat back down, sighing deeply as she said, "We've hit yet another brick wall."

"It's getting annoying," Castle said, sitting on the edge of the desk. "But it means whatever this secret is, it's big. And it's not drugs right?"

"Ryan called the FBI and DEA when I suggested that to him earlier this morning," Beckett answered. "But they don't have a connection between her and any kind of drug ring."

"Anything at all about her?" Castle said. When Beckett shook her head he then asked, "What about the CIA?"

"I don't think they'll be looking into her, nothing that's really dealing with national security," Beckett replied. "However," she went on to say as she stood up again. "I told Ryan to contact them as well, since I think we've reached the point where a last resort is going to be the only thing we have."

"I get the feeling it's going to be another dead end," Castle said with a sigh as they looked out at Julia who was looking out the window on the couch, Alexis sitting with her.

"I'm a little frustrated working here from home Castle," Beckett said suddenly, turning to him. "I mean, I've enjoyed watching her, but I want to be out trying to find these three guys. But I can't."

"Yes you can actually," Castle said, taking her hand and leading her out.

"What are you talking about?" Beckett asked in surprise before he had her sit in the armchair to the right of the couch. "Castle-" she began to say as he dragged over the other chair to set it next to hers.

"I told my mother and Alexis about this case and you getting temporary custody," Castle said, interrupting her as he sat. "And they were pretty touched that you did that."

"We were," Alexis confirmed. "Gram especially."

"And then I told them how you were going to have to either stay here at home and investigate with very limited resources, or else send Julia back to social services," Castle then continued. "So I talked it over with my mother, and Alexis," he said, nodding to his daughter. "And they want to take care of Julia while you're back on the case."

"Take… wait, no, Castle, I can't ask your mother; or you Alexis; to take care of a child," Beckett said in surprise.

"It's not a problem," Alexis said. "And you know our place is definitely secure. We just want the same officers watching your place to keep an eye on our building while we have her."

Beckett took a moment to reply, as Julia hopped down from the couch and went over to her. Once the little girl was set on her lap she said, "But you have school-"

"It's okay, I have late classes, you'll probably have her back here by then," Alexis said.

"And your mother, her classes?" Beckett asked Castle.

"She's got them late too," Castle said.

"I thought-" Beckett started to say, looking confused.

"Well, she's rescheduled them, but it wasn't a problem for her to do that," Castle said. He reached out and took Beckett's hand saying, "They really want to help you out. And it would just be while we work on the case. Which probably won't take much longer once we get that w… the thing we need opened," hesitating at the end with a glance at Julia.

"You're sure it's okay with both you and your grandmother?" Beckett asked Alexis.

"Definitely," Alexis said.

Beckett took a deep breath before she looked at Julia and said, "Would you mind that sweetie? Going with Alexis and her grandmother while I go to work with Castle?"

"No, Alexis said she's nice," Julia said. "Will you be gone all day?"

"I'll try not to, because I want to get back to you and bring you home," Beckett said. "But until then they'll take care of you and those police officers I showed you last night will be there too okay?"

"Kay," Julia said, leaning against Beckett.

"Okay," Beckett then said, looking at Castle and Alexis. "We'll give it a shot tomorrow; see how she takes to your grandmother. Can you take her?" she then asked Castle, handing him Julia.

"Oh sure, where are you…?" Castle asked, setting the little girl on his lap.

"Call Gates," Beckett replied. "And tell her about the change in plans."

"You okay?" Castle asked as they could hear Beckett talking in the office.

"Yes, can I get down please?" Julia asked, her body tense with anxiety.

"Sure," Castle said, quickly setting her down. He couldn't help but feel a little hurt at her reaction to him, but knew it was to be expected with everything she'd been through.

"I'm sure she'll warm up to you Dad," Alexis said as Julia ran to her and she helped the little girl climb onto the couch.

"When? After this case… she'll probably go into a foster home," Castle said quietly as Julia was looking out the window and he didn't want her to hear him.

"Are you kidding? She'll try and adopt her," Alexis whispered back, nodding towards the office. "What, you couldn't tell by the way she's taking care of her? Probably seeing herself as Julia's mother already." She smiled when her father looked surprised and said, "Watch them and see; I'm definitely right."

Castle looked over at Beckett as she came out of her office and watched as Julia ran over to her. He was a little taken aback, as he hadn't expected that connection to go so far as Beckett filing for adoption of the little girl, and wondering if he'd missed that watching his girlfriend with the child.

"What?" Beckett asked, picking Julia up and seeing that Castle was staring at her. When he shook his head; though still looking a little startled; she turned to Alexis and said, "Gates agreed to your plan," glancing at Castle, who was still looking at her. "But she wants to place an officer outside the door to your place for added protection, since neither you or your grandmother is a cop."

"That's alright, as long as they're outside we won't mind," Alexis said. "This is going to be great Julia; I have some games we can play. Oh! Can I show her what else we brought Dad?"

"Go ahead," Castle said, smiling as Beckett set Julia down and the little girl ran to his daughter.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Beckett asked as Castle moved her armchair back to where it originally had been. "There's some risk to your mother and Alexis."

"There is, but I get the feeling we'll be checking up on them all day while we're working," Castle said. "They'll be fine."

"What's that?" Julia asked as Alexis was pulling out a box from one of the bags her father had brought in with them.

"It's Scrabble, it's a little hard for you, so you could play with my dad," Alexis answered, picking up a wood tile from inside the box. "He'll help you out, he's a writer."

"I thought he goes to work with Kate?" Julia said in confusion as she handed the tile back.

"I do, but I also write novels. Kate's got all of them actually, if you look at her books," Castle replied as he and Beckett walked over to them then, having heard their conversation.

"So he'll probably know really tough words to spell," Beckett said. "Is that all you brought?"

"That's it, I'm not going to stay too late, class at eight," Alexis said.

"Well, in case you're wondering, you're welcome to stay for dinner," Beckett said. "Though I'm going to guess your dad assured you you would be before you two got here."

"I may have said something along those lines," Castle said before Julia tugged on the hem of Beckett's sweater.

"Can we watch the movie?" Julia asked pleadingly.

"Of course, after we eat dinner," Beckett replied, picking her up. "Speaking of which, Castle?"

"What, you want me to cook?" Castle asked in surprise.

"No," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "Can you call for some pizzas?"

"And you?" Castle asked as she walked towards the bedrooms.

"I have to change Julia's shirt, there's an older shirt I want her to wear while we eat," Beckett called back.

"Okay, you're right, she's going to fight to adopt her once she files for it," Castle said when he looked at his daughter and saw her looking at him pointedly. "But it's going to be tough, she's single… as far as anyone else knows, and she's a police officer."

"You don't have any connections that would help you out with that?" Alexis asked.

"Maybe, I'll have to see if she does go through with it after we get everything solved," Castle said as he went to the phone on the counter. "In the meantime, pepperoni?"

"And one with extra cheese, Julia said that was her favorite," Alexis replied with a smile as she set the game aside. "She told me we were having pizza for dinner and was hoping we'd have that."

"So you're really okay with Alexis and her grandmother taking care of you?" Beckett was saying as she changed Julia's shirt while the little girl was standing on the bed.

"Yeah," Julia said, nodding.

"You know her grandmother is Castle's mother right?" Beckett asked.

"She is?" Julia asked slowly. She started to bite on the neckline of her shirt before Beckett pulled it out of her mouth.

"You'll like her, I know her pretty well," Beckett said. "Her name is Martha and she's an actress."

"That's cool!" Julia said happily. "Is she good?"

"I think so, Castle thinks she is," Beckett said as she held her once she took her off the bed, holding her against her side. "You can ask her to do a line from Shakespeare for you and see if you think the same." She walked out to her kitchen, seeing that Castle and Alexis had moved to the coffee table and were setting up the game. "Are we playing before we eat?" she asked them.

"A quick game," Castle said, watching as Beckett set Julia down, kissing the side of her head and pushing her to the couch where he was sitting. He smiled at his girlfriend and then turned to the little girl. "Ready to play?" he asked, smiling reassuringly and patting the couch next to him as Julia grabbed her doll from an armchair and held it tightly to her.

The three played a quick game of Scrabble as Julia watched, listening to Castle when he explained a word that he played for her, but she remained silent, her doll against her chest and glancing every so often at Beckett before they stopped when the pizzas were delivered. Julia became happier as she ate, since she sat with Beckett on the couch.

After they had eaten, Beckett's phone rang, and she quickly picked it up, seeing it was Ryan. "We need to step into my office for a second," she said, glancing at Castle.

"We'll start to clean up," Alexis said, holding her hand out to Julia.

"What have you got Ryan?" Beckett asked. "And you're on speakerphone, Castle's here with me."

"CIA had nothing, or nothing they wanted to share with the NYPD," Ryan said on the other end. "And the lawyer's still on her way. So right now we're just waiting."

"Okay, tell Esposito that Castle and I are coming back to work tomorrow," Beckett said then, not surprised there wasn't anything new in the case.

"But Julia…" Ryan started to say.

"My mother and Alexis are taking her in," Castle said.

"I confirmed it with Gates already, the security detail we have right now will move to their building," Beckett said. "We'll be back in tomorrow to see what the will has to offer in the way of clues."

"Right, I was looking through companies here in the city as well," Ryan said. "Since I had so much free time, but nothing that's really too close to FS. Nothing that has those initials specifically anyways."

"I didn't think there would be," Beckett said. "But thanks for making the effort Ryan. We'll see you tomorrow." She hung up the phone and looked at Castle saying, "I guess we're done for today. Watch the movie?"

"Lead the way Kate," Castle said, smiling when she rolled her eyes before walking out of the office. "Oh hey, thanks for cleaning up Alexis, Julia, we can go ahead and start the movie," he said as his daughter was putting a DVD into the player Beckett had.

"Have you seen this before Kate?" Julia asked, climbing up onto the couch with Beckett's help.

"Actually I haven't, so it should be pretty interesting to watch," Beckett said as she held Julia on her lap as the little girl wrapped her arms around her.

"I haven't seen this either," Castle said as he sat next to Beckett. He smiled at Julia who slightly smiled back at him and he squeezed Beckett's arm before sitting back as Alexis got up from the armchair she was sitting on and ran to the kitchen. "You're going to miss it," he said in surprise.

"No, remember the popcorn you packed?" Alexis reminded him.

"Oh, that's right; you ever have that before Julia?" Castle asked as Julia whispered something to Beckett.

"I don't remember," Julia replied. She looked up at Beckett and asked, "Is it good?"

"Pretty good," Beckett said. "You can try it and see if you like it too."

Julia nodded and looked down at her doll she was holding in her grasp on Beckett before she said, "Stitch is really funny. I hope you like the movie."

"I probably will," Beckett replied, smoothing down some of her hair before she kissed the top of her head. "Something wrong?" she asked Castle, noticing he was staring at her again.

Castle shook his head and looked up at Alexis as she handed him a bowl of popcorn. "Thanks," he said as she handed the second bowl in her hand to Julia.

"All for me?" Julia asked with wide eyes.

"No, share it with Kate," Alexis said with a smile.

"Yes, because you're going to end up with a stomachache if you eat all of that," Beckett said, playing the movie.

"Thanks for pausing it," Alexis said as she sat in her chair again.

"Not a problem, actually Julia told me to after you got up," Beckett said.

"Have you seen this?" Julia asked then as the movie went through the studio names.

"Actually no, but a girl who lives a couple doors down at my dorm loves it," Alexis said. "I'd like to see why you like it so much."

Julia's attention went quickly to the TV as the movie finally began and she jumped a little on Beckett's lap. Her eyes remained glued on the screen as the small blue alien that was her doll soon landed on the island of Kauai and was adopted by the other title character, Lilo. She giggled at the antics of Stitch and hummed a little along to the Elvis songs that were played every so often. She didn't pay much attention to the others, only when Beckett would hand her some of the popcorn.

"Was pretty funny," Alexis said once the movie had finished. "Stitch is pretty cute and I see why you have that doll."

"Yeah, he's my favorite," Julia said as Castle stood up from the couch to get the movie. "Is it really mine?"

"Of course," Castle said. "You'd enjoy it more than I would if I kept it."

"D-Did you like it?" Julia whispered, hugging her Stitch doll to her tightly.

"I did," Castle said. "Kate?"

"It was good," Beckett said with a smile, looking down at Julia as the little girl was looking at her intently.

"I better get going," Alexis said suddenly, looking at her watch. "My class is in about a half hour."

"Thank you so much for taking care of Julia," Beckett said as she followed Castle over to the door.

"It's not a problem, and really, we haven't started yet," Alexis said.

"It doesn't matter, I'm thanking you in advance," Beckett said as Julia slipped her hand into hers.

"That's fine, I'm looking forward to it," Alexis reassured her. "I'll see you tomorrow Julia, we'll play some games and color some more okay? Don't forget your coloring books."

"Be careful," Castle said as he kissed his daughter on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right, thanks for letting me watch the movie Julia, bye!" Alexis called as she walked out into the hallway then.

"Okay, so now what? Some cartoons?" Castle asked after he closed and locked the door, looking down at Julia.

"Actually, I need to give her a bath," Beckett said as Julia noticeably perked up at that. "And she needs to get to bed after that."

"Oh, but-" Julia started to say.

"I know, but tomorrow you might have the chance to watch some cartoons while you're with Alexis and Martha," Beckett said, picking up the little girl. "Will you be alright waiting for me?" she asked Castle.

"Not a problem," he quickly said. "I'll open up a bottle of wine for after she's in bed."

Beckett nodded and then walked over to the bedroom, since her bathroom had the only bath in the apartment. She quickly bathed the little girl, a little unsure how it would go as she never had experience doing that before. Luckily Julia was old enough to help her and she soon had her out of the tub and dressed in her pajamas. "Come on, into bed sweetie," she said, leading her out down the hall, seeing Castle was sitting at her computer across the main room in her office.

"Just checking some things," he said as he walked over to them. "Time for bed?"

"Can't I sleep in your bed tonight?" Julia asked as they continued on to her room.

"You'll be fine," Beckett said gently. "You have Stitch with you and I'll be close by, I promise." She helped Julia up into the bed and pulled the covers over her. "Remember the movie?" she asked, stroking Julia's hair back from her forehead. "And when Stitch first went surfing? How scared he was of the water?"

"Yeah," Julia giggled. "But then he liked it."

"He did, but he was very brave to try it the first time," Beckett said, wondering what Castle was thinking since she could sense him behind her in the doorway. "And I know you are too Julia, so you should be okay to sleep here tonight alright?"

"Kay," Julia whispered, pulling the covers up over her face slightly. "Are you gonna go to bed now."

"In a little," Beckett replied, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "Don't worry though; I won't be too far away. Goodnight Julia, sweet dreams."

Julia yawned and then murmured, "Night."

Beckett watched her for a little while longer until she was sure the girl was asleep, which only took a few minutes. She got up and quietly left, going to Castle in the doorway before she turned off the light and closed the door behind them, leaving it open a slight crack. She checked on Julia before she turned and whispered, "Is that bottle open?"

"Yeah," Castle said, following her out to her kitchen. He grabbed the bottle of wine before she could and poured out two glasses. "I think it's about time we had that talk Kate."

Not looking at him, Beckett nodded and she let him take her hand before they walked over to her couch and sat together, though she was a little bit apart from him. "What do you want to talk about exactly?" she asked, ignoring the slight anxiety of what he might say that went through her.

"You and Julia," Castle said simply, watching as she took a sip of wine.

"Okay, you were right, we've got a connection… bond, whatever you want to call it," Beckett said. "And it's not because of what happened with my mother. Well, that's a part of it, but not the main reason. And it's not because I want a child either, definitely not that."

"I didn't think it was," Castle said, shrugging. "I think it's just because you two…"

"It's hard to describe," Beckett said, watching him struggle to finish that, a slight smile on her lips. "Which is amazing if you can't do that. But that's what happened when she came out of that hidden room, and I don't know what to do. But taking care of her today…" She paused, not sure she really wanted to put into words what she had been feeling, saying what she felt out loud and making it real. When Castle reached over to her and took her hand that was on the back of the couch she sighed and said, "I felt as if she was my daughter and… I think she's looking at me as her mother now."

"Of course she is, I could tell watching you two today," Castle said, looking on as she entwined their fingers. "What are you going to do at the end of the case?"

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly, though she knew she should probably tell him about her filing for adoption of Julia that morning before he'd first come over. She wasn't quite ready to reveal that yet, so she quickly said, "I'm not sure I'm ready to think that far ahead."

"You can adopt her," Castle said. "That letter her mother wrote, it was as if she was writing it for you. And I really don't think there would be anyone else better to take care of Julia than you."

"I know, but, if the courts turned me down because of my job… it's not something I want to think about," Beckett said, shaking her head. She set her empty glass on the coffee table and slid down the couch closer to him as he put his glass down next to hers. "I want to just focus on the case right now, and worry about finding a way to make her safe."

"You do realize that definitely makes you a parent," Castle replied. "What you just said." He cupped her cheek then and tilted her face up to his before he said, "You'd make a beautiful mother."

Beckett didn't really have a chance to reply to that, as he closed the gap between them before their lips met. She wrapped her arms around him tightly as they kissed and she could feel her heart starting to pound heavily. When they pulled away, breathing a little harshly, she didn't say a word, only took his hand as she stood up and led him to her room, closing and locking the door behind them.

Castle quickly wrapped his arms around her as she took the few steps between them, holding her tightly to him as they kissed a little frantically. He led her to her bed, never breaking their kiss, and then pulled away to take off the sweater she was wearing.

Kissing Castle as they hurriedly undressed each other, Beckett wasn't sure what exactly was making her act so needy, but he didn't seem to mind as they lay on the bed together. She felt his lips along hers trail down to her neck as he slid inside of her, and they began to move simultaneously while she kissed his hair as a line of fire followed in his wake. She moved his head up then and kissed him hard as his hand that wasn't supporting his weight reached in between them.

After he had to breathe, Castle pulled away from Beckett's lips and moved down to her neck again before he slid his lips further down on her chest, as far as he could reach. He shuddered once as she let out a short cry as his hand was stroking her breasts, and he moved back up, kissing her again, deeper, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He could feel their skin sliding together as they began to sweat with their exertions, and he buried his face into her neck after they parted with heavy pants of air.

Running her fingers over Castle's back, Beckett could feel his muscles as they tensed, partially from her touch and from his thrusts. She was panting heavily for air still, though they had stopped kissing long enough for her to catch her breath. She felt his lips brushing along her neck and she shook slightly as his breath was soon moistening her skin, blowing on it after and making goose bumps mar the smooth skin in response. She pulled his head up to hers again and felt him press his forehead against hers before their lips brushed together, their breath mingling in between them. She tightened her grip around him with both her arms and legs, and mouthed his name before she finally threw her head back and started to cry out, trying not to do so loudly though it was a struggle.

Castle groaned for a moment before he quickly followed Beckett over the edge and he buried his face into her neck again, saying her name continually. He knew they took a while to recover after they had calmed down, but when they finally had he slowly pulled away from her and pushed himself on his hands enough to be able to look at her. He wasn't too surprised to see that her eyes were closed tightly as she was panting heavily and he carefully pulled out of her and lay next to her, wrapping his arm around her before she turned onto her side, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You okay?" he asked, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, just taking a second to recover," Beckett said, sighing deeply as she felt his hand reaching up to her breast and gently cupping it. "But that was very nice."

"I was hoping you'd let us have the chance," Castle said. "Wasn't sure until you put Julia to bed."

"That was a subtle hint to you," Beckett said, smiling slightly before she reached up and moved his hand down to her stomach.

"Why did she sleep in your bed last night?" Castle asked. "Did she have a nightmare Kate?" he asked, raising his head to look at her.

"She did," Beckett replied. "And I let her sleep in my bed because her scream…" She slipped out of his arms then and as he sat up she went to her closet and grabbed something in black hanging on the end before she slipped it on.

"That's something new, unless you haven't shown it to me yet," Castle said as she went back to him, wearing a black nightgown.

"I bought it recently, not to really seduce you, didn't need to tonight," Beckett said. "But that's why I told you to bring something to wear at night. Just in case Julia might have a nightmare and I need to go her."

"See, that's why I thought we weren't going to get a chance to be together," Castle said, getting up and going to his bag of clothes he'd brought. He dressed quickly and joined Beckett back on the bed before they got settled under the covers. "What are you going to do if she does have one?" he asked as they were quiet, drowsing a little from their lovemaking. He had grabbed her hand and had his fingers entwined with hers, rubbing his thumb along her fingers gently as he held their hands up slightly.

"I'll probably sleep with her in her bed," Beckett said idly, watching him.

"And me? I get your bed to myself?" Castle asked.

Before she could answer that, a loud scream of her name pierced the silence of her room, and Beckett jumped up saying, "It's Julia." She ran out of the room, Castle behind her, and to Julia's room where the little girl was nowhere to be seen. "Julia?" she asked, looking around the room.

Julia suddenly climbed out from underneath the bed, and she ran to Beckett, throwing her arms around her legs, sobbing against her nightgown. "They were coming to get you too," she managed to say through her tears.

"Shh, it's alright sweetie," Beckett said, picking her up. She wasn't surprised when Julia wrapped her arms around her tightly and she gently stroked her hair. "Where's Stitch?" she asked, seeing that the doll wasn't in the little girl's arms or on the bed.

"I think under the bed," Julia whispered, sniffing loudly.

"I'll grab it," Castle said, having been standing in the doorway. He ducked under the bed and saw the doll, picking it up and standing behind Beckett as she was putting Julia under the covers.

"Can I sleep with you in your room again?" Julia sobbed.

"How about we sleep here with you?" Beckett asked, feeling Castle tense up behind her a little.

Julia looked at Castle with wide eyes and then back at Beckett, pressing down into the bed slightly. "How come he's in 'jamas?" she asked, not looking at either of them.

"I asked him to spend the night with me," Beckett said quickly. She slid under the covers and said, "Scoot over sweetie; we all need to get some sleep." She held the covers up behind her for Castle until he was next to her and she said, "This way if I have a nightmare Castle can take care of me," to Julia who was looking over at both of them.

"And vice versa," Castle said, looking over Beckett at the little girl. When she looked at him in confusion he quickly said, "She can take of me too."

"Get some sleep," Beckett told her then, stroking her hair. "We're here and we won't let anyone hurt you okay?"

"Kay," Julia said. She lay on her side and snuggled against Beckett's side before she switched her doll to her other arm.

"Good?" Beckett asked, rubbing her back. When Julia nodded she kissed her forehead and said, "Then goodnight again Julia."

"Night Kate," Julia said. She glanced at Castle and stammered, "N-Night Castle."

"Night Julia," Castle said. He was quiet as he watched with Beckett as the child fell asleep, clinging to her tightly, and then he whispered into her ear, "I stand by what I said earlier."

Beckett glanced at him and then smiled a little saying, "I didn't get the chance to say thank you."

"I got it pretty much," Castle replied, kissing her cheek. "Night."

"Night," Beckett said before she felt his arm wrap around her neck. She was unable to fall asleep then, knowing that when she awoke the next morning she was going to have to return to the real world and her job. She sighed under her breath as she glanced down at Julia before Castle's other arm slid over her stomach to rest on her right hip. She looked at him as he slept and forced herself to stay awake for a while longer before she soon fell asleep from exhaustion.

Until that point though, she allowed herself to imagine, if only briefly, of what life would be like, with Julia as her daughter. The thought was pleasant and feeling Castle holding onto her tightly only made her wish in the back of her mind that the idyll that moment provided could last for a lot longer; though she knew the case wasn't close to being wrapped up. But she hadn't really been as content as she was at that moment for a very long time and she didn't want to consider letting it go.


	5. It Can Hit You

"Good morning," Castle's mother, Martha said as she let Beckett, holding Julia, walk inside his loft first. "So this is Julia?"

"This is Julia," Beckett said with a smile. "Sweetie, this is Martha, Castle's mother and Alexis' grandmother."

"Good morning Julia, are you hungry at all? Alexis has made some pancakes for us," Martha said, touching the little girl's arm. She smiled when Julia nodded, but was looking at her doll. "Come and sit, please."

"We don't really have much time," Beckett said as she carried Julia over to the table and set her down in a chair. "Castle and I need to get to the Precinct as soon as we can."

"Where's Alexis?" Castle asked as Beckett bent down to talk to Julia then.

"I'm right here, sorry, was changing," Alexis said, coming down the stairs. "Hi Julia, I'm so glad you came."

"Hi," Julia said shyly as she hid her face behind Beckett's hand.

"Okay, Julia, I need to go with Castle to work, but I promise, I will be back tonight to get you and we'll go back home," Beckett said softly to the little girl who was clutching at her hand tightly.

Castle shook his head as his mother glanced at him with wide eyes and nodded to Alexis who smiled slightly. "We better get going," he said. "Alexis, are you going to eat too?"

"Sure," Alexis said, picking up the hint her father was subtly implying. She hurried to the kitchen counter and got two plates before she sat next to Julia's chair and she said, "You can pour your syrup," to the little girl, handing her the bottle.

"I'll be back Julia, I promise," Beckett said she walked to the door with Castle, Martha following them.

"Don't worry Kate, she'll be just fine with us," Martha assured her as Castle opened the door.

"Officer," Beckett said as the officer posted at the door was standing across the hall. "I'll be calling once in a while, and I'll let you know once we're going to be coming back," she told Castle's mother. "I shouldn't be too late unless something in the case comes up. But just to be sure, I did pack Julia's pajamas in her bag."

"We'll take care of her," Martha assured her.

"Let her play a little Mother," Castle said as he and Beckett looked at her. "And don't spend all day reciting lines to her."

"That depends on her," Martha said. "She'll be deciding what we do."

"Thank you again Martha, tell the same to Alexis," Beckett said before she and Castle walked down the hall.

"You're very welcome. She'll be safe, I promise!" Martha called before the two disappeared out of sight. She then went inside and locked the door after her, saying to Alexis as she walked into the kitchen, "She's really become a mother."

"I told you," Alexis said, looking up from Julia.

"Well, after you finish eating Julia, what would you like to do?" Martha asked the little girl who looked up at her name.

"I… I don't know," Julia said shyly. "Kate… Kate said you know Sh… Sh…" she tried to say before stopping, tears welling up in her eyes at her inability to say the name.

"Shakespeare?" Martha suggested.

"Don't worry, it's a tough word for someone so little, you tried though," Alexis said quickly, rubbing Julia's back comfortingly. "And Gram can tell you a lot of lines from Shakespeare's plays."

"What's a play?" Julia asked softly as Martha walked over to the table.

"Looks like you can use an intro to theater," Martha said. "We'll do that as soon as you finish eating and I'll even show you my costumes."

Julia smiled at that and ate a little faster, though she was still worried if she was going to see Beckett again that day as she had promised.

* * *

"Will you be okay?" Castle asked Beckett as they got into the elevator, going down to the lobby.

"Of course," Beckett replied, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "I can't help but feel a little bad that I'm leaving her, but it's absolutely necessary." She smiled when Castle squeezed her hand gently and she looked at him saying, "She'll be fine."

"She will," Castle said. "And we'll try and get back and have dinner with her, my mother and Alexis."

"Is that an invitation?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Of course," Castle said. "Just need to let them know," he said. "But later on once we know when we'll be back. First, we need to get that will opened."

"Speaking of which," Beckett said as her phone suddenly started to ring. The elevator stopped at the same time, so they stepped out into the lobby of his building and she answered just as it was ringing again. "Beckett," she said before pausing in mid-stride, making Castle abruptly stop.

Watching her speak with who he guessed was the lawyer; Castle was surprised when she said, "Right now? Yes, my partner and I can be there in about ten, fifteen minutes." When she hung up a moment later he asked, "She's there already?"

"She wanted to get the will opened as soon as possible," Beckett said as she and Castle hurried out to get a cab on the curb in front of the building. "She sounds pretty horrified," she said.

"She might know more about Julia's mother than we could find," Castle said, following her into the back of the cab that stopped in front of them.

"I doubt it," Beckett said after she had given the driver the address of the lawyer's office. "But we'll at least have a chance to go forward with the case."

* * *

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, please have a seat," the victim's lawyer, Janet Roy told them as they entered her office.

"Have you opened the will yet?" Beckett asked. "You were a little unclear about that. I thought you might have opened it as we were on our way here."

"Actually legally I cannot do that," Roy said. "Ms. O'Malley specified in her instructions on the reading of her will that if she died and it was being investigated, whoever was in charge of her case be present."

"Is there any mention of other people in those instructions?" Castle asked as he and Beckett shared a look.

"No, I'm afraid Ms. O'Malley was alone in the world, except for her daughter," Roy replied. "How is she?"

"She's fine, social services have placed her in temporary custody with me," Beckett replied as the lawyer picked up a package wrapped in string.

"As she would have wanted it," Roy replied, cutting the string and starting to unwrap the thick paper. It took her a while to get the brown paper off whatever was inside the package, and she finally laid out the contents on her desk. "You may look Detective," she said to Beckett.

Standing up immediately, Beckett stepped up to the desk and picked up a manila envelope and handed it to the lawyer, guessing it was the will. She then picked up a file that was nearly overstuffed with papers, and opened it, seeing the papers were weight measurements from different docks in the city. She looked at Castle; who was looking over her shoulder; and turned her attention to the only other item in the package, a folded piece of computer paper. She read what was on it, and she looked up at the lawyer who was reading the will and she said, "When did your client last come in?"

"About a week ago," Roy said, looking exhausted suddenly. "She would come once a month and update her will or add to that file if necessary. And she always insisted that I keep the will here. We have a large safe that's secure; also no one but our clients who request us for one know of it."

"I didn't think anyone took anything," Beckett said. "Excuse us for a moment." She walked to the other end of the office next to a tall window, and turned to Castle who had followed her. "She left us clues, we're just going to need to figure out what the hell this means," she said as she handed him the paper.

"129, AX4750, May 1st, 2013," Castle read under his breath. "That's in two days."

"I know, that doesn't leave us much time," Beckett said. "And you saw these right?"

"Yeah, you think… It could be a shipping container number," Castle said. "Something either coming into the country or out. So it could still be drugs."

"We need to get to the Precinct," Beckett said. "And see if we can find out what 129 means. Ms. Roy is-"

"Detective," the lawyer interrupted her. "I think you should read this section of Ms. O'Malley's will."

Beckett walked over to the desk and took the will, looking down at the paragraph that the lawyer was pointing out to her. She read for a moment and then looked up saying, "Why-"

"I actually lied, I knew you had custody of Julia for the time being, I made some phone calls on my flight," Roy said. "And they told me how social services came to give you custody. I thought you might want to read that."

"It wouldn't hold up in court," Beckett said slowly.

"It would be a factor in the end though," Roy said calmly. "But the will leaves most everything to Julia."

"Anything that might pertain to the investigation?" Castle asked, confused as he glanced at Beckett who looked a little shocked.

"No, it just deals with her worldly possessions," Roy said.

"We'll need to take these with us," Beckett said, coming back to herself.

"My client specifies in the will that all of that goes to the police," Roy said.

"Thank you," Beckett said before she left the office, leaving Castle to rush after her.

"Kate, what was in the will that you read?" he asked when they were in the elevator going down to the building's lobby.

"She stated she wants Julia to choose who she's given to," Beckett replied. "Which I really don't think will count for anything. She's only four years old."

"But you want her to choose," Castle said simply.

"We have all this paperwork to look at Castle," Beckett said, turning his attention back to their case. She wanted to stamp the flicker of hope that she had after reading the will, and the only way to do it was to focus on their vic's murder. "And that message which doesn't give us very much time to figure it out."

"Right, should we let Ryan and Esposito know we're going to be reading today?" Castle said before Beckett pulled out her phone. He took the file from her, glancing at the top paper as they walked through the lobby, glancing up at her every so often, knowing why she was throwing herself back into their work. He didn't want her to again suppress her emotions, not when they had just managed to discuss her feelings after meeting Julia two days before, but he didn't see a clear way to bring it up again, so he let the matter drop though he felt very perturbed doing so.

* * *

"Okay, so we've checked West 129th but that's nowhere close to any docks," Ryan said, walking up to Beckett's desk where she and Castle were looking through the papers in the file.

"And nothing in other states," Esposito said, walking over from his desk then.

"Which is a relief because we'd lose our jurisdiction and have to contact the local police," Beckett said, rubbing her forehead. "Have you checked the docks themselves?"

"Every last one," Ryan said. "Because it didn't take long to check the street. But nothing."

"She's left all this for us but in code," Beckett said, sounding annoyed.

"Wait… code?" Castle suddenly said, his head shooting up at that. "I think that's it." He got out of his chair and went to the white board. "Okay so we have the number 129. What if that's the street name, but she wrote it in numbers?" he said to the other three.

"What would it be then?" Beckett said, stepping up to him. "What numbers is she using exactly?"

"A telephone keypad," Castle said. "I know 1 doesn't have a number, but that's to throw off anyone who wasn't supposed to read the note. 2 is a, b or c, and 9 is w, x, y, or z. 2 is going to be a, because it's the only vowel out of these two numbers. And z is out because I can't think of a word in the English language at this moment, three letters long ending in a and z."

"What about LAX?" Ryan suggested.

"I don't think so," Beckett said, looking at the letters that Castle had written out and crossed off on the board. "Wait," she said suddenly. She turned back to her desk and flipped through the papers, picking up one she had been looking at. "The number 129 is the name of the street this container is at or is going to be arriving at on May first. Ray Street Container Terminal."

"And there was something else we discovered," Castle said as Ryan started dialing the number on his phone after taking the paper from Beckett. "These papers, every last one of them, they're different weights of the containers, with ones underlined in red. We weren't sure looking at these what exactly was so important about them, but Beckett made a call and was told that…" he said, before looking at her.

"These are the official papers, not copies," Beckett picked up at his glance. "The docks were given forged papers before the containers were shipped out to Asia, and whoever it was there switched them because a container as light as these were, would have been deemed suspicious by the DEA and Customs and searched."

"Yes, thank you very much," Ryan said before he hung up the phone. "Looks like you were right; they have a container with that exact same number on it at the docks."

"Let's go, Ryan, Espo, look into the number and try to find out who owns it," Beckett said, turning and grabbing her coat before leaving her desk, Castle following her with the note.

* * *

"Don't know really what's the problem, they've been given the go ahead to ship tonight," a dockworker who was showing Beckett and Castle through the stacks of containers. Ryan and Esposito were with them, as Gates had stopped them before they could leave the Precinct, insisting that they go together in case it was drugs in the shipping container and there was a possibility of it being under guard. "It's right here," the man said, stopping in front of a grey container that was on its own.

"Do you usually have them like this?" Ryan asked, looking around them in confusion since all the other containers were stacked on top of each other.

"No, but the company pays extra for that, so we just do as they ask," the worker said.

"Thank you sir, I'd like you to step back," Beckett said before a loud creaking sound turned their attention to the container. She was surprised to see a man in a dark blue jumpsuit come out of the container and she yelled, "NYPD, stop right there!"

The man's head shot up and when he saw Beckett, Ryan and Esposito had their weapons drawn he took off at a run.

"We've got this!" Esposito yelled as he took off, Ryan behind him.

"I swear, I didn't know he was there Detective," the worker said, his voice shaking. "We don't allow anyone inside the containers once the company brings it."

"Who owns this container?" Castle asked as Beckett started walking to it.

"Don't know, just a company called FS," the man said. "A-Am I in trouble."

"No, just, stay back," Castle said before he followed Beckett. He managed to reach her before she could open the slightly ajar door to the container and whispered, "Ready?"

Beckett nodded and she aimed her weapon as she pulled the door open carefully. When she saw what was inside, her arms instantly dropped and she murmured, "Oh my God."

"What is it?" Castle asked, coming up to her and looking over her shoulder. His eyes widened as he looked inside the container which was heavily lit, and followed Beckett inside.

"Oh Jesus!" the dock worker yelled as he stepped closer to the container and could see what was in it. "I have to call my boss!"

"She's alive," Beckett said, touching the neck of the little girl strapped to a cot that was bolted to the floor.

"So is this girl," Castle said. "They're selling girls," he said.

Beckett didn't answer, checking the pulse of the next girl and then running to the next before she was suddenly stopped. "I-" she began to say.

"They're all alive," Castle said, holding her wrists. "That's why that guy is here; to make sure they are before they ship them. We need to call ambulances for them and we can't do that in here."

"What the hell is this?" Ryan said, stepping into the container and seeing the girls in two rows of twenty cots pressed against each other.

"We need to call in ambulances and contact Gates now," Beckett said, rushing out of the container then. "Esposito, arrest this son of a bitch for human trafficking and take him to the Precinct, I'll want to speak with him," she told him as he walked up with the man in the blue jumpsuit. She turned back to the container and said, "We need to find out who FS is."

"I didn't think the dispatcher I got believed me when I said we needed at least 60 ambulances, but they're coming," Ryan said, hanging up his phone. "Are they drugged?"

"Chloroform," Beckett said, seeing a cabinet built into the corner of the container by the door. "That's another reason why that guy's there, to keep them under until they'll be shipped." She then shook her head and said, "But that's a long time to keep a child as young as three unconscious. Ryan, check and see when exactly this container was supposed to go out."

"Damn it, he was right," a voice said at the entrance to the container.

"Are you the manager?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, and I can answer your question," the man said, looking at the cots in shocked disbelief. "It was supposed to head out tonight to Thailand. We had no idea what was going on though, I swear."

"Who brought the container here?" Beckett asked, wondering if Julia's mother had gotten the date wrong in her note.

"Same guy you're taking away right now, he always brings containers from the company," the manager said.

"And who owns it?" Castle asked, turning from the cots as he was getting a sickening feeling in his chest watching the motionless girls.

"FS, that's all we know," the manager said. "Do you need me for anything? To help?"

"No, you've helped plenty, thank you," Beckett said. When the manager walked away she looked at Ryan asking, "What've you got?"

"Luckily I can search on this phone, I checked the number and it comes back as belonging to the company Bremner Limited," Ryan said.

"I've heard of that company, they specialize in communications equipment," Castle said. "The CEO is a friend of the mayor's."

"We need to interview him after we talk to that guy we found," Beckett said as they heard the sound of sirens. She walked out and saw a number of ambulances and a few squad cars pulling up. "Ryan, can you coordinate everything here?" she asked the detective as he and Castle followed her out. She glanced to her right then, sensing someone watching her, she saw nothing but more containers however, and she shook off the feeling before turning to the detective.

"I've got it," Ryan said.

Beckett walked back to her car, Castle following her, and after she talked to some of the EMTs about the condition of the girls in the container, she drove them back to the Precinct. As they were on the way, she turned to him and said, "Can you-"

"Already started to dial," Castle replied before he put his phone on speakerphone. "Alexis, hey," he said when his daughter answered. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're actually looking at some of Gram's costumes," Alexis replied. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, just wanted to check up on you," Castle said. "Is Julia with you?"

"Yeah, right next to me," Alexis said.

"Let her have the phone, Beckett wants to speak with her," Castle said before he held the phone towards her.

"Kate?" Julia's voice came over then.

"It's me Julia," Beckett replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm looking at costumes now," Julia said, sounding happy. "And we played before that." There was some whispering in the background and she quickly said, "Martha told me about plays and she showed one to me."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Beckett said, glancing at Castle. "I have to go sweetie, but I just wanted to check on you."

"Kay, will you come back?" Julia asked.

"Of course, give the phone back to Alexis now and I'll see you later, bye Julia," Beckett said before Castle took the phone off speaker and talked to his daughter. When he had hung up she said, "The FBI is going to be coming in at some point, I need to talk to our suspect before that."

"We should have some time," Castle said. They were quiet for a while and he then said, "I was pretty sick seeing that."

"You imagined Alexis?" Beckett asked, looking at him. When he nodded she said, "I could imagine Julia there in the cots. But did you notice that they were all…"

"Hispanic? Yeah, I did," Castle said. "That suspect's got a lot of explaining to do."

Beckett nodded and pressed on the gas a little harder, suddenly desperate to talk to the first suspect in the case they had to interrogate, wondering if he'd cooperate before the case was taken over by the FBI.

* * *

"His name is Montego," Esposito said as Beckett and Castle walked into the room outside the interrogation rooms.

"Does he have a last name?" Beckett asked, looking through the window at the suspect.

"No, he said they all go by just their last names," Esposito said. "And that's all he told me."

Beckett turned and went into the room, Castle following her. "Mr. Montego," she said once the door was closed. "You realize you're in serious trouble, with what you left in that container."

"Just doing my job," Montego said, glancing at Beckett up and down once.

"But little girls? And in Asia?" Beckett said. "Human trafficking is illegal."

"Yeah, I know, but it's a job, it puts food on the table," Montego said with a shrug as he glanced at Castle. "How the hell did you find us?"

"I'll ask the questions," Beckett snapped, irritated at his nonchalant manner. "Who are these girls?"

"How the hell would I know? I just pick them up from our hunters," Montego said. "All I know is we pick them up from the projects, easier to take, the parents are scared to report to the cops. Illegals."

"And you send them to Asia for what exactly," Beckett asked.

"If you were going to ask me stupid questions I would have just asked for a lawyer," Montego said.

"Why don't you?" Castle asked.

"Well, the business is starting to run down, rumor is the Boss might be caught by the Feds, so I have to look at my options," Montego said. "And this was going to be my last run. Kinda a rat deserting a sinking ship kind of thing. But you already know those girls are for the sex trade."

Beckett sat back hard in her chair at the confirmation of her fear when they had found the girls, and looked at Castle who had the same disgusted look on his face. "How many have you sent?" she then asked when she found her voice again.

"Beats me, but this isn't a daily thing," Montego said, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe once a month, every other month if the hunters can't find the right kind of girls."

"What makes them the right kind of girl?" Castle asked.

"The ones that don't exist," Montego said. "And that's as much as I know."

"You-" Beckett started to say.

"I'm serious, that's all I'm allowed to know," Montego said, spreading his hands in a wide gesture. "The Boss is very careful, or he was, before the Feds got suspicious about him."

"And who is the Boss exactly?" Beckett said.

"Don't know, he keeps a low profile, don't know if the hunters really know who he is though they deal with him directly," Montego said.

"Is this one of the hunters?" Beckett asked as she showed him the sketch.

"If he's covered up like that, then probably," Montego answered. "I've never met him before. He must be the one they call Black."

"Is that his last name?" Castle asked.

"Good question, they kept me completely in the dark," Montego said. "And this is why I'm telling you all I know, because it doesn't amount to shit for your investigation. And that's why I started working for these guys. Didn't want to end up in the Hudson with what I owed the Boss."

"So you took this job knowing nothing but what you had to do and how those girls ended up in those containers," Beckett stated.

"That's right, so I'm afraid I can't really help you," Montego said, crossing his arms.

"One question," Beckett then said, taking a paper out of the file that she was holding. "Do you recognize this writing?"

"Oh yeah, that was that _chica_ that tried to get me to talk to the Feds," Montego said. "Pretty, and funny that she was trying to get the Boss in trouble."

"Why's that," Castle asked as Beckett tensed up next to him.

"Because she was his secretary, and his girl," Montego said. "She's the one that got killed huh? I saw on the news, looks like the Boss took care of her and her mouth."

* * *

"He's going to be in prison for a very long time," Esposito said as Beckett and Castle came out to the murder board where he was waiting for them.

"Yes, but it's not enough," Beckett said, looking down at the note in her hand. "He didn't even know what the date had to do with anything. She must have made a mistake."

"I get the feeling that's not the case," Castle said.

"Then it's another code," Beckett said, looking at him.

"The date," Castle said then. He took out his cell phone and said, "Look, the number one doesn't even have a letter code though… Then… wait, when was Julia born?"

"The seventeenth of March," Beckett replied, looking confused. A look of realization spread across her face and she and Castle said at the same time, "The third."

"What?" Esposito said, looking perplexed.

"But why would she want to hide the date?" Beckett said.

"I don't know," Castle said, looking at the board.

"Wait, where did you get the third?" Esposito asked.

"The one is from the number seventeen, her daughter's birthday is the third month of the year," Beckett quickly replied. "So unless she was coding May… she just coded the day."

"Probably to throw off anyone," Castle said. "What if," he suddenly said, standing up. "What if this was to throw off the Boss?"

"But he wouldn't be able to get that paper," Beckett said. "In case he found it you mean?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't help us, that container wasn't going to leave the third," Castle said.

"It's another container," Beckett said. "But where and what's the number?" She looked at Esposito and said, "Can you hold down everything here with Ryan once he gets back?"

"What are you thinking?" Esposito asked.

"We need to talk to the CEO of Bremner, but before we tell the FBI about what we found because it will fall under their jurisdiction, and I don't want to have to turn everything over to them just yet," Beckett said.

"Yeah, we'll try and keep it from Gates as long as possible, but once she sees me and Ryan are here she's gonna want to know what we found and where you two are," Esposito said.

"That'll be long enough for us to talk to the CEO," Beckett said as she put on her jacket. "In the meantime, once you have Mr. Montego set, check and see if there's any connection between Bremner Limited and FS."

"Right, hope you find out whoever the Boss is," Esposito said before Beckett and Castle walked over to the elevator.

"I don't think it's the CEO," Castle said once they were in the elevator car.

"Neither do I, but he's the connection," Beckett said. "And that's enough for me."

* * *

"Hello, can I help you?" the secretary asked at the office of Ralph Bremner as Beckett and Castle approached her desk.

"Yes, I'm Detective Beckett and this is Mr. Castle, we need to interview Mr. Bremner," Beckett said, showing the secretary her badge.

"Oh… of course," the woman said, looking startled. She picked up her phone and spoke quietly to Bremner on the other end.

As they were waiting, Beckett looked around them, noticing quickly that the company was doing very well. She didn't think; as she had said to Castle; that he was the so called "Boss," but wondered why the company's shipping containers were being used to transport girls to Asia and what the connection was between them and Julia's mother.

"Detective?" a voice said from the door to the right of the desk. A middle-aged man was standing in the doorway, and when Beckett and Castle looked at him he said, "Please, come in."

"Mr. Bremner," Beckett said once they were inside the office with the door closed behind them. "We're investigating a case, and would like to ask you some questions."

"Of course, I'll answer what I can," Bremner said. "Have a seat please," he said, motioning to the two chairs in front of his desk.

"We're investigating the murder of woman," Beckett began once they were sitting. "And we have some evidence that points to your company."

"My company? What have you found exactly," Bremner asked, looking surprised.

"A shipping container," Castle said. "The number on it led back to Bremner Limited."

"Well, we have a lot of shipping containers, what exactly was found inside of it?" Bremner asked.

Beckett didn't say a word, simply handed over two pictures to him, the one on top of the girls in their cots. She wasn't surprised to see the look of horror on his face as he looked up at her and Castle, but she was when he looked at the second picture and relief appeared in his expression. "Is there something you recognize with the container?" she prompted.

"Yes, that's one of our old containers," Bremner said. "Actually, I think this one…" He froze then, and his eyes went wide as he looked at Beckett and Castle.

"Mr. Bremner?" Beckett said, surprised as the man grew visibly paler. He was silent, his mouth opening and closing, as if he was trying to speak. She became worried he was going to ask for a lawyer, but then began to talk.

"My… the company," Bremner stuttered, his voice shaking heavily. "When we got new shipping containers to replace these old ones, I gave them to my half brother."

"What's his name?" Beckett asked, grabbing her pad of paper and a pen.

"Harris Bremner," Bremner replied, looking down at the pictures.

"Why would he need shipping containers?" Castle asked.

"He has a company," Bremner said, setting down the pictures and pressing his hands together, resting his forehead against his fingers. "Foxglove Security."

"Foxglove?" Castle asked incredulously, looking at Beckett.

"Yeah, he, he always had a fascination with the flower, his mother grew them at our home when we were growing up," Bremner said. "Why?"

"You're sure that this container is one you gave your brother?" Beckett asked, avoiding the question.

"Yes, our old company logo was in white and gray colors, our new ones are blue and black, so this is the old one," Bremner said, giving the pictures back to Beckett. "You found those girls in there?"

"We did, but that's not the only thing," Beckett said, knowing they had exhausted what he knew about the trafficking. She pulled another picture out of her pocket, and then showed it to the CEO. "Do you recognize this woman?"

"Of course I do," Bremner said, "That's Maureen, she used to be my secretary before I sent her to my brother's company."

"She's been murdered Mr. Bremner," Castle said as the man looked at them in confusion.

"What?" Bremner almost shouted. "But why?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Beckett said. "And does your brother ever hire people with questionable backgrounds?"

"I… he did, or does, I don't know, we haven't talked since last year," Bremner said. "You think he did this?"

Beckett was about to reply to that when the door to the office opened, and she and Castle turned to find a man in a suit there. "FBI?" she asked, trying to hold back her annoyance.

"Agent Steven Garcia," the man said, holding up a badge. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop interviewing a person of interest to my case Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle."


	6. Watch Out Now, Take Care, Beware

"So we have enough of a case to subpoena Mr. Bremner," Agent Garcia was saying to Captain Gates in her office at the Precinct. "Thanks to the discovery of the shipping container at the Ray Street Docks by your detectives."

"Excuse me Agent Garcia," Beckett said, standing with Castle behind the agent. "You believe that Mr. Bremner is honestly the so called Boss?"

"Everything so far indicates it," Garcia said, glancing back at her. "And speaking of the shipping container, I will need all the evidence you have found pertaining to the human trafficking business that Bremner Limited is running."

"Some of that evidence is needed for our murder investigation," Beckett said. "Or are you taking that over for us?"

"Detective," Gates said warningly.

"No, actually we'll allow you to run your investigation separately, but I'm going to have to ask, Captain," Garcia said, turning to her. "That you report their findings to us."

"And why would I need to do that?" Gates asked.

"Because Ms. O'Malley was actually beginning to inform us about FS," Garcia replied.

Beckett looked at Castle, whose eyes were wide, and she turned back to the agent saying, "You knew and you didn't come forward or take over the case once you found out she was murdered?"

"It was reported at first that the murder was a home invasion robbery," Garcia said simply. "It took your reports to your Captain to get my attention and realize that it was likely because she was gathering evidence against the Boss that she was murdered."

"And what about the child?" Gates asked. When Garcia glanced at her she said, "You know she had a child, Julia O'Malley."

"Yes, I heard about that," Garcia said. He turned to Beckett then and asked, "You were given temporary custody of her right?"

"I was," Beckett said, her body tense at the mention of Julia.

"I'll leave her in your custody," Garcia said. "But did she hear anything about the trafficking from the attackers?"

"No," Beckett said, relaxing slightly.

"Fine, Captain Gates, I'll be calling to check tomorrow to see if your detectives have found anything that might help my case," Garcia said. "In the meantime I would appreciate it if you could have them focus solely on the murder investigation."

"Of course," Gates said before she left the office with the agent.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Beckett rubbed her forehead and said, "We need to look into Harris Bremner," before she walked out of the office and over to her desk where Ryan and Esposito were standing.

"Are we off the case?" Ryan asked.

"No, but if we find anything about human trafficking, we have to tell Gates and then step away," Beckett said.

"They're not taking Julia from you are they?" Esposito asked.

"She's no real use to their investigation, so she's staying with me for now," Beckett replied. "But they think Ralph Bremner is the boss."

"But there's paperwork that he gave his brother the containers," Ryan said.

"They want to solve this case so they're claiming that since the new owner of those containers is Bremner's brother, he just borrowed them back for when he ships out women. To keep anyone from suspecting him," Castle said.

"So what do we do now?" Ryan asked.

"Look into Harris Bremner," Beckett said, looking at the whiteboard and lingering her gaze on Julia's picture. "And see where we can find him."

When they were alone Castle turned to Beckett and said, "What're you thinking?"

"Julia, why exactly they wanted her," Beckett said, shaking her head slowly. "It can't be to kill her. If that was the case they would have tried now they know she's not with Social Services."

"If we can find Harris Bremner you won't really have to worry about that," Castle said.

"And that's not going to be easy," Ryan said suddenly.

"You searched already?" Beckett asked, looking at him in surprise.

"Just searched his name and it states he's been living off grid for about a year now," Ryan said. "No addresses, there's a PO Box address, but it's only for business mail."

"Unlikely he'd pick it up himself," Beckett said. "But that would explain why Bremner said he hasn't heard from his brother in a year."

"And explains why he's been able to work the human trafficking part of his business so well," Castle said.

"How are the girls that we found?" Beckett suddenly asked.

"They're all fine except for being scared out of their minds when they came out from the chloroform," Ryan said. "Social Services is doing an extensive search for their parents."

"Hopefully they won't be deported when they pick up their daughters," Beckett commented. "Anything Esposito?"

"Nothing much, looks like Bremner, the brother, deals in cash. His financials after May of last year are a blank," Esposito said.

"He's using an alias," Castle said.

"Likely," Esposito responded. "But before they stopped, his records indicate him buying a couple more shipping containers."

"From his brother?" Ryan asked.

"No, brand new," Esposito said.

"Can you get the numbers on them?" Beckett said.

"Yeah, I was able to when I saw the purchases," Esposito said, handing Beckett a piece of paper.

Looking down at the paper, Beckett opened her mouth, to tell them to search for where the containers were, but remembered the FBI investigation. She sighed and said, "Anything else that might be about human trafficking?"

"No, you have to give that to Gates?" Esposito asked.

"I have no choice," Beckett said.

"I'll take it," Esposito said.

"I'll let her know we're looking at Harris Bremner as our suspect and not Ralph Bremner," Ryan said.

When the two had left Beckett said to Castle who was watching her, "Do I seem like I'm about to explode into a fit of rage?"  
"I'm pretty sure that's why they went to talk to Gates for you," Castle said, watching her walk up to the board. "Can we investigate any further without looking at the shipping containers?" he asked, walking up to her.

"No, not unless we get permission from the FBI," Beckett said, crossing her arms over her chest. "If we had gotten something from the digitalis…"

Castle nodded though she wasn't looking at him, and he looked up at the board.

"Anything?" Beckett asked, wondering if he'd thought of something.

"Not without having Bremner to talk to," Castle said.

"So is this the perfect murder?" Beckett asked.

"Detective," Gates said, walking up to them then. "I've contacted Agent Garcia with your new evidence, and he's going to be returning tomorrow to assist you in looking into Harris Bremner."

"And now?" Beckett asked.

"He's gone to the hospital to talk with the girls that you discovered," Gates said. "And he's going to speak with Ralph Bremner."

"Is there any way we can investigate ourselves? Anything at all?" Beckett said.

"I'm afraid he's keeping a tight hold on his investigation," Gates said. "So if you have anything else to look in to, I suggest that you focus on that until tomorrow."

"How long has Garcia been working on the case?" Ryan asked when the Captain had left them.

"Almost a year," Beckett said, sitting at her desk. "And that's around the time our vic began to be contacted by the FBI to become their informant."

"Then what can we look into? Any other angles we haven't looked at yet?" Esposito said.

"Everything we need deals with the human trafficking ring," Beckett said. "So I think we're done for the day."

"If we tried looking surreptitiously-" Ryan began.

"They're going to be looking for that," Beckett said, shaking her head. "I had that same idea when we had to leave Mr. Bremner earlier. But Garcia said specifically that they would know when we searched for something dealing with human trafficking, Bremner and shipping containers and docks."

"Then… damn it, we're stuck," Esposito began to say before he finished speaking in an angry tone of voice.

"I suggest you guys go home," Beckett said, grabbing some paperwork for the case. "Get some rest because tomorrow we'll have a lot more to look into."

"Actually, we can get these done for you," Ryan said, taking the stack of papers.

"Why?" Beckett asked, looking at him in puzzlement.

"You have the kid, Julia, to take care of," Esposito said. "And protect, those three guys are still out there, and still want to get a hold of her."

"Yeah, better she has you to protect her than a security detail," Ryan said.

"Thanks," Beckett said, relieved. "I'll owe you guys." She stood up and started to pack her bag quickly as she said to Castle, "Think you can borrow them your car for me?"

"Oh no, I've done that enough times," Castle said, relieved to see she looked less stressed than she had since the FBI agent had interrupted their interview. "But you're not going to stop investigating are you?"

"No, I have notes and I'm taking this home with me," Beckett said, showing him the file with the evidence they had gathered so far and had been able to keep. She tucked it into her bag and closed it before slinging it over her shoulder. "Ryan, Espo," she said, walking over to their desks, Castle following her. "Try and look back two years into his records," she said.

"Harris Bremner?" Ryan asked. When Beckett nodded he then said, "Why?"

"Because that's about the time he got the containers from his brother, and also when he founded Foxglove Security," Beckett replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, say hi to Julia for us," Ryan said.

"And watch your back," Esposito then said.

Beckett smiled briefly at that, and she walked to the elevator with Castle saying, "It's a long shot."

"Still, there might be something that stands out," Castle replied as they stepped into the car.

"Since we're done for the day, can I take you up on that dinner offer?" Beckett asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye since they were alone.

"Sure," Castle said, smiling at her. "My place?"

"Yes, I just want to see that Julia is safe after today," Beckett said. She was a little startled when she felt Castle's hand take hers, and she glanced at him, squeezing back before they let go of one another.

* * *

"Kate!" Julia cried as Beckett and Castle entered his loft. She took off the hat she was wearing and ran to Beckett, throwing her arms around her legs tightly.

"How are you sweetie?" Beckett asked, picking her up.

"Okay, it's dark," Julia said.

"I know, I'm sorry I'm late, but I had a lot of things to do before I could come back," Beckett said.

"Any luck kiddo?" Martha asked Castle as he sat on the couch next to her.

"Not really, I'll explain later," Castle whispered as Beckett came over with Julia.

"So we were just about to order dinner," Martha said. "Will you two be staying with us?"

"We will," Beckett said, setting Julia down. "Why don't you tell me what you did today?" she asked the little girl, sitting on the couch.

While Beckett was listening to Julia's story about her day with Alexis and Martha, Castle was setting the table with his daughter and whispering to her what they had found. He left out the shipping container with the little girls in it, not wanting to tell her about that yet.

"I can't believe there are people who do that," Alexis said in shock when her father had finished by telling her about the FBI agent holding up their investigation.

"Unfortunately there are," Beckett said, walking over to them. She glanced questioningly at Castle and when he shook his head no she looked at Alexis and asked, "Did you or Martha notice anything or anybody suspicious while Julia was here?"

"No, and I would look out every so often," Alexis said. "Nothing but the undercover officers in the dark car."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett sighed.

"Well, why don't we try and forget the case, just while we eat Kate?" Castle asked as there was a knock on the door.

"I'd like that," Beckett said, not sounding very sure of herself though.

"I think some wine would be helpful right now," Martha said, walking up to the table as Castle put some bags with containers in them on the kitchen counter. "For you especially Kate."

Beckett smiled and went over to where Julia was sitting on the floor, looking at a hat for one of Martha's costumes that had a veil attached to it. "Are you hungry?" she asked the little girl. When she nodded she reached out and picked Julia up saying, "Let's get your hands washed and we'll eat."

"Are we staying here tonight?" Julia asked.

"No, we'll go back home, but you didn't mind being here did you?" Beckett asked.

"It was fun, but I was scared still," Julia said.

"Why?" Beckett asked, starting to wash Julia's hands at the sink they were at.

"Because you were gone," Julia whispered.

"I'm here now, so it's okay," Beckett said quickly, smiling as she kissed the top of the little girl's head. "You're safe," she murmured as she soaped the tiny hands, smiling wider at Julia's giggle when some bubbles started to fly around.

"Hey," Castle said, standing in the doorway to the bathroom. He smiled when Beckett looked at him and said, "Dinner's getting cold."

"We're ready," Beckett said. "Go and get your chair sweetie," she said once she had rinsed and then dried off Julia's hands. She stood up straight once Julia had left, and she finished drying her own hands. "She-" she started to say.

"I heard," Castle said.

"You have a bad habit of eavesdropping," Beckett said, putting down the towel. "But I'll excuse it in this case."

Castle stopped her before she could step around him, and cupped her cheek, kissing her briefly before he took her hand and led her out to the table where Alexis was helping Julia into the same chair she'd used that morning.

Beckett and Castle spent the meal trying to forget their investigation, turning their attention to Julia as the little girl asked Beckett what she had done while she was gone. They were both able to come up with vague enough answers that Julia never questioned, and once they were done Beckett stood up from the table.

"I think we'd better get back to my place," she said as she handed her plate to Castle who had stood up then. "It's getting a little late for Julia."

"Will we be having her over tomorrow?" Martha asked.

"I think so," Beckett said slowly, looking down at Julia, who nodded eagerly. She smiled and said, "I'll call before we come."

Watching his mother and daughter go to the table, Castle turned to Beckett and said, "Try and get at least some sleep."

"I know, I will," Beckett said. "But I want to look at everything once before we need to work with Garcia. Just in case I missed anything."

"You didn't," Castle said, squeezing her hand before he smiled down at Julia. "I'll see you tomorrow Julia."

Julia smiled shyly and nodded before she waved to Alexis who had come up behind her father. "Thank you for letting me play with you."

"It was fun, I can't wait for tomorrow," Alexis said with a smile. "Good night Julia, Beckett."

"Night, thanks for everything," Beckett said before she opened the door. She nodded to the officer who was in the hall, and once he had walked towards the elevator, she turned to Castle who was in the doorway. "If you find or think of anything, call me, I don't care what time it is," she told him.

"You knew I'd look over the case too?" Castle asked before Beckett just gave him a look. "Okay, so I will, and I promise I'll let you know if I find something new."

"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile before she cupped his cheek and they shared a quick kiss. She smiled when she pulled away and he was a little longer in opening his eyes, running her thumb over his lower lip. "Tomorrow," she said simply.

"Tomorrow," Castle said, squeezing her wrist quickly before he let her go. He then watched her walk down the hall, holding hands with Julia, and remained there until the two were out of sight before closing and locking the door.

* * *

Walking into the lobby of her building, Beckett was surprised to see that a number of people were standing around in groups, talking, and she walked to someone she knew from her floor. "Mrs. Peters, what's going on?" she asked the older woman who was holding a dish towel in her hands.

"There was a false fire alarm," the woman said, smiling at Julia who Beckett was holding. "They're trying to figure out what caused it exactly, if they can, and then they'll let us all up."

"Want to get the mail with me?" Beckett asked Julia. She walked over to the boxes after the little girl nodded, and set her down next to them, opening her box. "Not much," she said, smiling at Julia. "Hold the magazine for me?" she said to the child, handing her her _National Geographic_ magazine. She was just reaching into her box for the two letters still inside, when there was a sudden shriek to her right.

"Fire!" a man yelled as a closet door suddenly burst open and flames flickered out into the lobby.

Beckett immediately grabbed Julia's hand and started to run toward the front doors along with everyone else that was in the lobby. She was having a hard time though, since Julia's legs were so short, so she stopped near the wall, turning to the little girl to pick her up. But before she fully turned, she was suddenly shoved aside, and another person knocked her hard into the wall, breaking her hold on Julia. "Julia!" she yelled when she suddenly saw someone pick up the girl and turn back into the lobby. She realized who it was, and she instantly withdrew her gun, discarding her workbag and running after the man in a dark coat, a hood up over his head.

Fighting her way through the people that were trying to get through the lobby, Beckett had to dodge and weave her way after the man in the hood before she saw him run through the door to the basement. She was delayed reaching the door, the people scrambling to get away from the fire though it wasn't spreading slowing her down, but she finally threw it open, holding her gun up as she ran down the stairs. At the bottom, she looked around, the laundry room to her right, and the hall to the rest of the basement in front of her. The half the lights were off and half on, leaving stark pools of illumination, and the fire alarm was blaring; echoing around the walls in the narrow corridor.

Glancing in the laundry room, Beckett began to step towards it, when she heard a dimly shrieked, "Kate!" and she whirled around, seeing a figure running through a circle of light further down. She ran then, but the man in the hood never reappeared in the lights further down. She was about to stop and turn to a door to her left when she saw something in the light ahead. She ran to it, and picked up Julia's Stitch doll, growing sick when she saw some blood across the blue fabric. She dropped it and pointed her gun ahead of her again, walking slowly into the darkness.

Beckett could feel her heart pounding heavily as she slowly stepped forward and reached the next pool of light. She was starting to think that she had been mistaken, and was about to turn around to backtrack, when she saw a square of light in the distance. She started to run when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her and she froze, starting to turn, her gun raised in front of her. She was in another pool of light, but couldn't see who it was. "NYPD, step into the light," she yelled, though she knew that her voice was nearly inaudible with the fire alarm still blaring. She heard running behind her, and she whirled around, stepping into the darkness to be able to see who it was. There was a sudden scraping sound of a foot behind her, and she started to turn again, when there was a sudden explosion of pain on the side of her forehead, and the last thing she knew was the sharp ricochet of a bullet being fired from her gun before the darkness enveloped her fully and she collapsed to the floor.

* * *

Looking through the pages of shipping notes, Castle rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn as he set the paper in his hand next to the actual copy from the docks. He had been looking through the papers that Ryan had been able to copy before the FBI agent had confiscated them, trying to see if he had missed something as he knew Beckett was likely doing at that moment. But he had been reading through the pages for nearly an hour, and had nothing to show for his efforts except a third mug of coffee cooling on his desk.

Ready to give up and deciding he'd call Beckett to see if she'd had more luck though he knew he was going to make her think he had found something, Castle picked up his phone and pressed the number for her phone. He walked to the window as the phone rang, and he glanced out at the city lights without really seeing them before her voicemail suddenly opened. "Kate, it's-" was all that he got out as another call came in. He hurriedly looked down at his screen, seeing that it was Esposito and answered it saying, "Did you find something?"

"No bro," Esposito replied, his voice sounding tense. "You better get out here to Beckett's place."

"What happened," Castle asked, sensing something was drastically wrong.

"It's Beckett and Julia… they're gone," Esposito said.

Swearing in his mind, Castle hung up the phone and ran out of his office, grabbing his coat as he passed it and shooting out of his loft, never seeing that his mother and daughter were coming down the stairs, asking him what was wrong.

* * *

"Castle," Ryan called, from the back of the lobby of Beckett's building.

"What happened?" Castle asked once he reached the doorway to the basement.

"According to the landlord, there was a fire alarm and everyone evacuated here to the lobby," Ryan said before he turned and went down the steps. "And then there was a fire in the maintenance closet that's across from this doorway, it was minor but witnesses claim that it was made the door burst out and the flames shoot out."

"And everyone ran?" Castle asked, getting an idea of who was responsible.

"Yeah, I talked to a few people, some of them saw Beckett running with Julia before she was knocked into the wall," Ryan said. "And some other witnesses are saying there was a man in a hood that ran back in the lobby with a child in his arms. And he was covered almost head to toe."

"And Beckett?" Castle asked, knowing already that she had chased after Julia.

"We don't know, but there's this," Ryan said as they reached the doll on the floor.

"Is that blood?" Castle asked.

"It is, we're thinking it's Julia's," Esposito said, walking up to them. "And then there's this down here."

Castle followed the two detectives a little further down the hall, and saw a badge, two guns, watch, phone and wallet on the ground.

"What we don't get is why they took everything off her," Ryan said. "If they had taken everything with them, then they could have kept her kidnapping secret a while longer."

"I think they want us to know," Castle said, glancing back at the doll. "It's like they want to taunt us…" He shook his head and then said, "Are there surveillance cameras down here?"

"And in the lobby," Esposito said. "The landlord is getting the footage ready for us. But why would they take a cop?"

"Ransom?" Ryan said. "Castle?" he asked, seeing he was walking down the hall to the door at the end that was open.

"Any cameras here?" Castle asked.

"No, they have one in the back of the building, but not the side here," Esposito replied. "We-"

"Detectives Ryan, Esposito," Gates said, appearing at the other end of the hall suddenly. "What have you got?"

Castle watched the two go to the Captain, and left alone he stepped out into the alley next to the building. He glanced at the walls but didn't see any security cameras as Esposito had said. He looked down at the ground, but it was wet, which left behind no evidence. He rubbed his forehead in frustration, knowing that the kidnappers had done their homework before that night, and he wondered how exactly they had managed to stake out the building without Beckett noticing them.

"…so they just came in and managed to take her?" Gates was saying as she walked out to the alley then.

"They planned it ahead of time," Castle replied.

"What the hell happened to the officers she was supposed to have protecting the child?" Gates said, looking around the alley.

"They were unable to come back here from Castle's building before she did apparently," Ryan said. "By the time they got back, whatever car they used was already leaving the alley."

"And why take an NYPD detective, they have to know the risk," Gates said. "I'm going to have to call Agent Garcia, Julia O'Malley was related to his case, and now Detective Beckett is."

Watching the Captain step back into the basement, Castle said to Ryan and Esposito, "Will he take over the investigation?"

"Don't know, but I get the feeling he's not going to care about Beckett and Julia being taken unless we can prove it has to do with the human trafficking ring," Ryan said.

"Is there any way you can insist that we take care of it?" Castle then asked. "Because he will not be able to find them."

"I was going to suggest that myself," Esposito said. "Damn Fed is so focused still on Bremner, the older brother. He'll be looking into his financials and calls to see if he ordered this kidnapping instead of finding them."

"We'll see what we can do once we get back to the Precinct," Ryan said. "In the meantime, someone needs to call her dad."

"I'll take care of it," Esposito said. "But I'm not looking forward to telling him."

"I think I can do that," Castle said, taking his phone out of his pocket then. He turned around before Ryan and Esposito could say anything, and called Beckett's father. He closed his eyes tightly as it started to ring, not sure how things had gotten to that point when only a matter of a few hours before he had been with Beckett and Julia at his home. He shook himself as Beckett's father answered the phone and he quickly said, "Jim? This is Richard Castle, I'm afraid it's about Kate."

* * *

"According to the landlord, the fire alarm was pulled at about seven ten," Ryan was saying as he was fast forwarding the security footage from Beckett's building at the Precinct. "There they are," he said then as he looked at the time stamp and then the screen.

Castle, standing behind everyone in the room; which included Esposito, Gates and Agent Garcia; watched as Beckett talked to a woman and then took Julia over to the mailboxes. He tensed slightly when, after handing Julia what looked like magazines, Beckett whirled around and then grabbed the little girl's hand before they started to run.

"That's it for this angle," Ryan said, switching to another set of security footage. "This is from further down the lobby." He quickly fast forwarded until he got to the point where people were running in the direction of the doors. "There," he said, pressing play and rewinding a little before playing it again.

On the screen, Beckett was slammed into by a man in a black hood, hitting the wall and letting go of Julia's hand. Behind her, another man in a black hood picked Julia up, and turned around, running to the back of the lobby.

"There's some brief footage here," Ryan said, switching the footage again. "Of the man with Julia and then Beckett."

"What about the basement?" Gates asked.

"Here," Ryan said before tapping the screen. "The landlord has it in infrared as at night they go down to minimal lighting and when there's a fire alarm as well; that was still going on when this happened." He fast forwarded to the time of the second fire alarm and then stopped as the man in the black hood ran down the middle of the screen and then stopped, turning back the way he'd come.

"What's he doing?" Garcia said.

"Waiting for Beckett," Castle said simply. When the man glanced back at him he didn't turn his gaze from the screen, as the man in the hood ran down and then stopped again a little further down. He watched as Beckett then entered the screen, her gun drawn, and glanced into the laundry room before she suddenly turned and ran down the hall again.

"There's a man in that room," Gates said as another man appeared in the hallway from the laundry room. "Why did she continue down."

"They used Julia to lure her past," Castle said, watching with a sickening feeling as the man that had left the laundry started to follow Beckett as she ran up to the doll and stopped.

On the screen, Beckett was running further down the hall and the man was running behind her, getting closer.

"She can't hear him," Esposito said suddenly as she turned back the other way, but didn't seem to see the black hooded man.

"No, but I think she sensed him," Castle said as Beckett took one step backwards and spoke though the footage had no sound. The door at the end of the hall suddenly opened, and the man carrying Julia slipped out with the child, revealing for an instant a dark SUV parked in the alley. He opened his mouth to speak when Beckett turned to the door, and the man behind her inched up close enough to get her attention and she whirled around, but before she could fully turn, the man was hitting her with the end of a gun, and Castle winced as Beckett collapsed to the floor, her gun flying out of her hand and shooting a stray round into the wall.

Before anyone could say anything, the man who had knocked Beckett out and a second man; it was impossible to tell who it was; hurried to her body and quickly took her badge, phone and wallet out of her jacket. The man who had knocked her out, who was larger and huskier than the other man, picked her up once her guns and watch were discarded and threw her over his shoulder before running after the second man down the hall.

"I want my people on this case agent," Gates said angrily to Garcia. "This is one of my detectives and a child under her care and I will not let you keep us from trying to get them back."

"I'll be glad if you do," Garcia said. "I'll need to focus on Mr. Bremner now, and discover how he was able to hire these men to kidnap the child and why he wanted to take Detective Beckett as well."

Sharing a glance with Esposito and looking at Castle, who was staring at the screen which was left paused on the attacker carrying Beckett over his shoulder, Ryan said, "We don't believe it's the older Mr. Bremner, but his brother."

"I believe his younger brother is just in charge of operations," Garcia said. "But that's my focus. You can do whatever you like concerning getting the kid and detective back, but I'm still in charge of trying to shut down this human trafficking ring and that's what I plan to do. However," he said quickly. "I will need you to check in with me with any new information that you might find."

Castle turned and left the room then without a word to the others, trying to resist the urge to slam the door shut behind him as he went. He walked over to Beckett's desk, and stood next to it, looking down at the cleared top before he sat down heavily in the chair next to it. He glanced at the whiteboard and heard footsteps behind him.

"There's not much we can do bro," Esposito said as he and Ryan stood next to the whiteboard. "Gates wants us to comply with the FBI as much as possible."

"We need to look into the younger Bremner," Castle said.

"We told Garcia, and he agreed," Ryan said. "Again on the terms that we tell him everything we find."

"We'll start looking into everything," Esposito said.

"Did you check his financials before we left earlier?" Castle asked as he stood up.

"We did, but it's another dead end," Ryan said. "Nothing suspicious."

"Doesn't surprise me," Castle said. "We need to look into his background though, everything."

"Like Espo said, we'll start tonight," Ryan said. "But what about you?"

"Nothing much I can do," Castle said simply. "Unless Gates doesn't mind me searching Bremner."

"Probably better you go home," Esposito said. "Garcia asked Gates while we were leaving if you really should be here."

Nodding, Castle turned and was about to leave when he saw Beckett's father walk over to Gates' office. He hesitated for a moment, and then went back to his chair, sitting and waiting for his girlfriend's father to finish with the Captain. He didn't have to wait long, as soon Mr. Beckett was leaving the office, and walking over to Ryan and Esposito who were at their desks.

"Do you have any idea where my daughter is?" he asked the two detectives.

"Not yet Mr. Beckett," Ryan said. "But we're doing everything we can to find her and Julia."

"Who's Julia? Your captain mentioned a kid when she was talking about Katie," Mr. Beckett said.

"This is Julia," Castle said, standing and pointing to the whiteboard. As Beckett's father walked up to the board, looking at the picture of the little girl he glanced at Ryan and Esposito who nodded to him at nearly the same time. "It started two days ago," he began as Mr. Beckett turned to him. He went over the case in as much detail as he could; stressing the connection between Beckett and Julia as much as he thought she would want her father to know.

"She… is it because of this little girl that Katie was taken?" Mr. Beckett said, sitting down in the chair next to his daughter's desk, looking shocked.

"I don't think so, not in the way you're thinking," Castle said. "I think," he continued when Mr. Beckett looked up at him. "That it's not because Kate was with Julia and trying to protect her that she was kidnapped," his voice faltering on the last word. He swallowed heavily and then said, "But another reason that I can't really figure out with the little evidence we have right now. But Esposito and Ryan are looking into the background of the one suspect we do have, and we will do everything we can to find them both."

"Will they kill her, and the little girl?" Mr. Beckett asked.

"No," Castle said, with the first certainty he'd felt that night since he'd gotten the phone call about Beckett and Julia's abduction. "We'll let you know everything we can. And I can promise you myself I'll do whatever I can to find her."

Nodding, Mr. Beckett got up and walked out of the Precinct without another word, leaving Castle, Ryan and Esposito to watch him go before they turned back to what they'd been doing before he had arrived.

"Excuse me Mr. Castle," an officer said, walking up to Beckett's desk then with some papers in his hand. "These were delivered after Detective Beckett left, and were just discovered. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to leave them here or not considering the circumstances."

"I'll put them in her drawer, she can find them once she's back," Castle said firmly as the officer set the papers in the middle of the desk and then left. He picked them up and was about to open the drawer when he saw the seal for New York City Social Services at the top and hurriedly grabbed a spare file that Beckett had in her desk, putting the papers there before hiding the file under his coat. He checked to see if Ryan or Esposito had noticed him and when he saw they were staring at their computer screens, walked over to them while trying to be as nonchalant as possible. "Anything coming up right away?" he asked the two detectives.

"We have a picture now," Esposito said, turning his computer screen towards Castle.

"Looks like a creep," Ryan said under his breath as he looked at the picture as well. "All I've got is that he was married five years ago, but his wife died giving birth to their son, who lived only three months. SIDS apparently."

"If he got into human trafficking, why exactly…" Castle started to say. "And now we know why they took Julia."

"They're going to sell her?" Esposito said. "Castle that-"

"No, it makes sense, what if Harris was holding that over the victim's head?" Castle asked. "If she went to the FBI he would take and sell Julia."

"Then that's why he tried to kidnap her a few days ago. But why now that Julia's mother is dead?" Ryan said.

"I don't know," Castle said. "And that doesn't explain why Beckett was targeted."

"We'll keep looking," Esposito said.

Castle nodded and then stood up saying, "Maybe he has a prior record, went to jail. Could be where he met the attackers and killers."

"I'll check," Ryan replied. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah," Castle said before he walked toward the elevator. He stopped before he was out of sight of the desks, and looked at Beckett's desk before he closed his eyes momentarily and then walked into the elevator car, making sure the file was still tucked securely under his arm.

* * *

Locking the door of his loft behind him, Castle leaned back against it as he looked at the file in his hand. He hesitated for a moment, and then opened it. Just as he read Beckett's name at the top of it, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Dad! What happened?" Alexis said as she and Martha hurried over to him.

"We heard on the news that Kate and Julia were kidnapped, is that true?" Martha asked.

"It is," Castle replied. "They were ambushed at her building, and they took them both."

"Oh Richard," Martha said, rubbing his arm as she could hear the pain in his tone of voice. "Is there any way to find them?"

"I don't know, and I don't think they'll be ransoming Kate," Castle said as Alexis hugged him.

"They wanted Julia because she could ID them you said right?" Alexis said.

"And we think they want to sell her in the sex trade ring," Castle replied, his tone becoming dull then.

"A four year old child?" Martha breathed. "But…"

"I told you what we found at the docks," Castle said. "And what we heard from the guy who was watching over them. They're taking Julia too, but why I don't know."

"And Beckett?" Alexis asked.

"We don't know," Castle said, walking over to his office. He set down the file on his desk and said, "I wasn't really much help there, all I could do was contact her father."

"What are you going to do with that?" Alexis asked.

"Did you take that from the Precinct?" Martha then said.

"No, it… it's for Beckett, I took it because I didn't want it to get lost," Castle answered, taking off his coat and throwing it into a chair. He looked down at the file and a hand suddenly reached out and picked it up. "No wait," he said, standing up and trying to grab it out of his mother's hands.

"She filed for adoption," Martha said as she read. "And the day after you found Julia."

"Yeah, I wasn't too surprised to see that," Castle said.

"She told you she was going to?" Alexis asked.

"No, she didn't want to mention it," Castle said. "She's been fighting a lot of emotions with this. But I knew, after you told me Alexis, that she wanted to become a mother once we had talked about Julia. And now this…"

"Maybe you should get some rest," Alexis said as she and her grandmother watched him rub his face with his hand. "I'm sure they'll find something and be able to get her and Julia from wherever they're holding them."

"There's nothing," Castle said, shaking his head as he took the file from his mother and turned to his desk setting it down. "He's been pretty much a recluse for at least four years, since Julia's been born and her mother was his secretary. He likely threatened Julia's mother, saying if she ever went to the Feds, he'd take her."

"But now she's dead, why is he still taking her?" Alexis said.

"I think it's because of how she looks," Castle said, remembering the girls in the shipping container. "Those girls that were taken, they were all of Hispanic decent, Central, South American and Mexican. But Julia is Caucasian, Irish and Scottish according to her parents' files. I think she might be…" he trailed off, feeling a sickening sensation in his stomach as he realized how he was about to finish that and shook his head.

"More expensive," Alexis finished for him, cringing when he nodded.

"You have to find her, I can't imagine anything more disgusting than that adorable girl… you have to find them Richard," Martha said angrily.

"I know, I want to, I'm trying to, I'm going to try to look at everything I can from here before I go back to the Precinct," Castle said, walking around his desk and sitting down. "You two get some sleep, please."

Alexis watched as her grandmother said goodnight as she left the office and then turned back to her father. "Did you see them being taken?" she asked.

"You were always very perceptive," Castle said, putting his arms on the desktop as he entwined his fingers together. He glanced out the windows at the skyline and then back at Alexis. "There was security footage in the basement where they got her, we watched it before I came back," he said.

"How exactly were they able to kidnap her?" Alexis said.

"They pulled the fire alarm, separated Julia from her and used Julia as bait to get her down to the basement where the lighting was minimal," Castle said, seeing the images from the security footage in his head. "They planned this the past two days since they killed the victim, and they knew the best way to make her vulnerable. I just can't figure out why they bothered to take Kate once they had Julia."

"You'll find them Dad, I'm sure you'll think of some way," Alexis said, never really remembering seeing her father that worried. She went over to him and when she had put her hand on his shoulder paused and asked, "You're thinking of that shipping container."

"Yes, Kate's unarmed, they took everything from her when they knocked her out," Castle said. "And then the attacker who hit her just threw her over his shoulder like she was a… thing." He rubbed his face with both hands as the bile rose in his throat at the image of his girlfriend's body being lifted and carried away. "That's all they see these girls as, and Julia… and Kate."

"You think they'll kill her?" Alexis asked then, a little surprised at her father's tone of voice until she realized what was bothering him.

"I don't know," Castle said. "I don't think so, since they didn't just kill her in the basement. But I can't think of what other reason they took her."

Alexis opened her mouth to speak, but then hesitated before she walked around the desk and wrapped her arms around her father and hugged him. "I know you'll find them, but you should get some rest, would help Beckett a lot more if you were able to focus," she said.

"I will, I just want to see if there's any way I can find something that might lead us to them," Castle said, patting his daughter's arm. He took her kiss on his temple before she left, closing the door to his office behind him, and he buried his face into his hands before he reached for his laptop. He opened a search engine on the internet, and typed in the name of their suspect, Harris Robertson Bremner and hit enter. When he saw the over ten million hits, he hurriedly typed in Foxglove Security and was surprised to halve that. He typed in NYC along with the other markers, and was able to narrow it to five thousand hits.

For the next half hour he checked on everything that was available publicly about Harris Bremner, but found nothing but basic information. At one web site, he found a picture of the older Bremner brother with his family and his eyes narrowed as he saw that Bremner had four daughters. He recalled the story about the younger brother's wife having a son and passing away, the son passing away as well. He wondered if it might be the catalyst for him starting to trade young girls, but wasn't sure if there was any animosity between the brothers. He made a mental note to ask Ryan and Esposito if he could talk to the older Bremner and see if something psychological could lead to an explanation for the sex trade ring.

As he was thinking about the container, seeing the image in his mind again, Castle remembered the suspect that he and Beckett had talked to earlier and his limited information. He suddenly realized that Montego could provide more than he had before. He reached for his phone, but when he saw the time on his computer he stopped and sighed, setting it back down. He would have to try and talk with Montego later. With nothing else left to do, he shut down his laptop and walked over to the windows, staring out at the lights of the city without really seeing them again.

"Where the hell did they take you Kate," Castle said to himself, as if she could answer his question. He shook his head and left his office, going to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, as he wasn't finished looking back over everything in the case.

Sitting back down at his laptop with a large mug full of black coffee, Castle clicked on the site with the picture of the older Bremner and his family. He had a feeling that there was more to it than a simple family photo, but he couldn't quite get what exactly the connection to the case would be to Beckett and Julia's abduction. He looked at Bremner's wife, and then realized that she had similar coloring to Beckett, a brunette with brown eyes. But the daughters all looked like their mother, so they have didn't have much of a connection to Julia. But he had a feeling that something with Bremner's wife would explain why his brother had kidnapped Beckett.

Closing the site, Castle took a long sip of coffee, wincing at the heat, and glanced at his phone. He turned it on, and went to a picture he'd taken the day before while he and Alexis had been at Beckett's. It was while they were watching the movie together, and Julia was sitting on Beckett's lap. He'd taken it surreptitiously, sure that his girlfriend would likely have gotten annoyed by him doing that. But it had come out really well, Beckett whispering into Julia's ear as the little girl giggled, holding tightly around her neck. He quickly closed his phone, and leaned his elbow on the desktop, putting his forehead on his hand. He knew they needed to be found, and by the third, Julia's mother had noted that date, and he knew instinctively that it applied to Beckett and Julia and whether or not they would be found. Looking at the clock on his computer, he saw it was past midnight, and he exhaled loudly.

It was the second of May. They were running out of time.


	7. They Take You Where You Shouldn't Go

" _Mommy…_ "

" _Mommy…_ "

Slowly opening her eyes, Beckett wondered for a moment if she was dreaming, confronted with a tiny, brightly lit room with the sound of sobbing next to her. She started to turn her head but then groaned in pain at the explosion on the side of it and she started to move her right hand when she heard the sound of metal against metal. She looked, and saw that it was handcuffed to a radiator. She then turned her attention to the object shaking against her side, seeing that it was someone, not something. "Julia," she breathed, wrapping her left arm which was free around the little girl.

"Mommy," Julia cried, wrapping her arms around her tightly.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Beckett asked, making her look up at her. She took in a deep breath when she saw the dried blood at the top of Julia's forehead, knowing it was likely a match to her wound as she could feel the dry blood flaking as she spoke. "Does your head hurt?"

"Little," Julia whispered. "I wanna go home."

"I know, me too, and I'll try to get us there if I can," Beckett said, stroking her back comfortingly. She looked around her then, trying to figure out how exactly she could get them out when she was chained to a radiator. "Sweetie, do you think you can look around the metal that I'm attached to for me?" she said calmly to the little girl. When Julia looked at her with wide eyes she smiled reassuringly at her and kissed her forehead. "It's okay Julia; I just want to see if you can help me." She was relieved when Julia nodded her head, and then stood up.

"What do I do now?" Julia whispered once she was standing just behind Beckett.

"Shake the metal that I'm attached to, and see if maybe it's loose," she replied, looking behind her.

"It doesn't move," Julia said tearfully as she tried to shake the radiator but it wouldn't budge.

"Okay, come here sweetie," Beckett said, not too surprised. She wrapped her left arm around Julia and gently stroked her hair as the little girl sobbed against her. "It's okay, I'm sure people are coming to find us," she said, glancing around the room. She didn't feel very much confidence in her words when she saw that there were no windows, and the only opening besides the door was a very high vent that she had no hope of reaching cuffed to the radiator.

"Are they Mommy?" Julia whispered through her tears.

"They are… Julia, remember I'm Kate," Beckett said in surprise, looking down at the little girl.

The little girl shook her head and whispered, "You're my mommy," before pressing closer to her.

Beckett started to open her mouth to reply to that, but then shook her head. She wasn't sure why Julia was suddenly calling her her mother, but if it helped her at all she wasn't about to stop her. And she couldn't deny that she liked hearing it either, though she pushed that to the back of her mind, trying to focus on their situation first. "My friends will look for us, I promise Julia," she said softly, kissing the top of her head gently.

Glancing around the room again, Beckett tried to see if there was any way that she could possibly free herself and get her and Julia out. But she could see, just by a quick sweep of her eyes, that there was nothing that would help them. The room was solid white walls, floor and ceiling, and the radiator was firmly bolted in place. She glanced at her handcuffs again, but knew they weren't going to give way without bolt cutters or the keys for them. She leaned back then, resting her head on the metal that chilled her scalp through her hair, and she glanced down at the little girl, hoping that Castle, Ryan and Esposito had found out about their abduction and were looking for her. She wondered how long she had been out, but with no windows, there was no way to even begin to guess.

"Mommy, someone's coming!" Julia cried out in fear.

"Get behind me, on your knees," Beckett whispered, hearing the footsteps then. "Hold onto me tight," she said then once the girl was behind her, tense as the door opened.

"Ah, you weren't lying, a wonderful selection this time around Bremner," a tall, thin man with a British accent said as he entered ahead of a taller man with darker features and three men who were all heavily armed. "It is always a pleasure to see what you might come up with with each month." He walked over to Beckett and had nearly reached her when she suddenly kicked out at him. "What the hell?" he said angrily as one of the three armed men ran over.

"Don't worry, we'll calm her down soon enough," Harris Bremner said calmly as the armed man slapped Beckett across the face with the back of his hand as Julia screamed behind her. "Feel free to look at the child."

Though Julia was holding onto Beckett as tightly as she could, the British man easily pried her free and forced her to stand in front of him. His eyes raked down her several times and he squeezed her arms and legs.

Feeling blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, Beckett tried to fight against her attacker, but he was holding her too tightly for her to free herself. She watched in a panic as the British man quickly turned Julia around and felt around the back of her head and down to her legs. She jerked against the hold on her, but the attacker seemed to be expecting that, pulling a gun out from his coat and holding it under her chin.

"Move anymore, and I will blow your brains out for the child to see," the man hissed, his accent foreign but unrecognizable to Beckett.

"Yes, she will do very nicely. Her hair color alone will fetch quite a price," the British man said, looking at Harris.

"I thought you might like that. And her eyes as well?" Harris replied, a smirk on his face.

"She could possibly get the highest profit you've gotten since you started," the British man said.

"And the woman?" Harris said as he gestured to one of the two men behind him with his hand.

"Hmm, I believe we can make a deal for her," the British man said once the other armed man had a hold of Beckett and the third man walked over, holding a knife with some kind of green substance to her arm. "I will be going, I must get back to Bangkok before your next shipment comes in, and I will look forward to this one. But I do hope you will be able to evade the police and federal agents since she's a police officer," he said as he tilted Beckett's head back and forth before touching the side of her breast as she jerked away from him. "Definitely will want a more… personal deal this time."

"That can definitely be arranged Michael," Harris said, shaking the man's hand. "Just give me a good price for the little girl; she's the daughter of that bitch that tried to inform the FBI about me."

"Ah, the O'Malley woman, I had heard about that," the British man said. "She was the officer investigating?" When Harris nodded he then smirked and said, "Will you be sampling her before tomorrow night?"

"As always," Harris replied. "Unless that's going to affect our deal?"

"Not at all, you'll have to inform me how that transpires," the British man said. "I bid you adieu Mr. Bremner, and good luck, she will likely put up a struggle."

"That's never worried me," Harris said firmly. "I will be sending the container tomorrow, sailing just before midnight."

Beckett was trying not to struggle against the three armed men as she felt sick at the conversation between the two men. She looked down at Julia who was holding on tightly to her and stared at Harris as he turned from the doorway.

"You don't need to worry," Harris said, seeing the glare in Beckett's eyes. "The kid won't be sampled as we call it. Not until she gets to her new home. As for you… with you being damaged already sampling goes for one and all."

"You son of a-" Beckett started to say when the man with the gun cocked it loudly.

"Thank you Spade," Harris said. "I'll have a lot of work cut out for me. But I can handle her. Okay, get them some water; I don't need them passing out before we're ready to take them to the dock."

The man with the knife remained next to Beckett, holding it to her arm as the other two men left. As soon as one had returned with a bucket of water, he stepped away as the other kept him covered with a gun.

"You sure I can't try the kid Boss?" the man with the knife asked, a scar that went from a crescent shape to a jagged line down his cheek on his face.

"Not this one Black, you heard Wilton, she'll be expensive, double if she's untouched," Harris said. "Next one we take that's not white." Once the two men had left, he looked at Beckett who had her arm around Julia who was sobbing into her side and smiled saying, "You wonder why I do this?"

"I don't need an explanation," Beckett shot back angrily. "You're a twisted, sick man."

"Yes, I'm sure by now my brother knows, I heard they arrested him," Harris said, laughing darkly. "I'm sure my sister in law and nieces will enjoy the scandal, connected to the kidnapping of little girls." And with that he left the room, slamming the door shut before there was the audible click of the lock.

Breathing heavily, Beckett closed her eyes and rubbed Julia's back as she kissed her forehead before murmuring, "Sweetie, you need to stop crying okay? I'll get us out of here, some way."

Julia shook with her tears for a while longer before Beckett was finally able to calm her down. "Is Castle going to come?" she whispered.

Startled at that, since she had thought that the little girl would have lost what little trust she'd gained in men the past few days, Beckett said, "He will, he's very smart and I know he'll try the best he can to find us. We need to take care of ourselves first, let me clean up the cut you have."

With Beckett's instruction, Julia got a handkerchief that she'd been carrying in her coat wet, and then gave it back to her. "Ow," she hissed when Beckett touched the cut.

"Sorry," Beckett said soothingly. She quickly wiped the dried blood off before she refolded the handkerchief and had Julia get it damp again on a dry side and she tried the best she could to clean off her wound. But it was too difficult as she was trying to clean it with her left hand. "Help me Julia," she said to the little girl, handing her the cloth. She grit her teeth as the little girl's gentle taps resulted in a small explosion of pain.

"I'm sorry," Julia said, tears flooding her eyes.

"It's okay, you did a good job," Beckett said, wishing she had something to cover the cut on the child's forehead. "Let me take a look at you," she said as she brought Julia closer to her. She saw that the cut wasn't too deep, and the scabbing she'd left on it would likely be the best protection until they were rescued. "Why don't you get some sleep okay?" she asked as she smoothed down Julia's hair.

"W-What if that man comes back? I didn't like him touching me, it hurt," Julia sobbed.

"He won't, and I promise I won't let them touch you again," Beckett said angrily. "Here," she said as she had Julia sit on her lap and she did her best to cover her with her coat, closing it around the child who was shaking again though she guessed it was from the chill in the room. She gently rubbed Julia's side through her coat, shaking a little herself as the floor was freezing and the room was not heated. When she finally felt the little girl's body slump against hers a long time later, she glanced around again, looking above the radiator as well, trying to find something she could do to escape with Julia. But as before, there was nothing but the radiator and vent. She finally admitted it wasn't likely she was going to be able to get them out of there, and she closed her eyes tightly at the realization she was in serious trouble.

The only thing that was left was to hope that Castle, Ryan and Esposito could possibly find a way to find their whereabouts. She hoped that they weren't going to be shut out from the FBI's investigation into their abduction, especially Castle. She then thought of her father, and felt horrible, imagining what he would likely feel once he was notified of the kidnapping. She breathed out deeply, and felt Julia tighten her grip around her which jarred her from her thoughts.

Stroking Julia's hair gently, Beckett forgot about everything but the little girl, knowing that nothing else mattered except getting her out of there. She started to recall the three men and how they had moved and acted; trying to see if there was any way she might be able to remember a weakness that she could use to her advantage. She could only recall though that the man called Spade had put his gun away and was left handed, though she had no idea how that could help her. Sighing deeply she closed her eyes, and whispered softly so as not to wake up Julia, trying to keep the rising desperation at bay, "Please find us Castle," and she opened her eyes. "Before the third."

* * *

Standing in front of the whiteboard at the 12th Precinct early on the morning of the second, Castle stared at the pictures of Beckett and Julia that Ryan had placed there. He had fallen asleep at his desk the night before, trying to find anything, even the most inconsequential piece of information that might lead to something that would help find out their location. He rubbed his face as he recalled nearly ordering Beckett her usual coffee before he'd gone to the Precinct, and he turned to find Ryan standing to his side.

"Hard to take, seeing their pictures up there," the detective said, nodding at the board.

"Yeah, did you find anything?" Castle asked.

"No, last night was… a bust," Ryan said. "We did find an apartment in Brooklyn and another in Hell's Kitchen that the younger Bremner owned but… dead ends, he moved out around the time the trafficking ring was formed." He studied Castle as he was staring again at the pictures and opened his mouth to speak when Esposito walked over to them.

"Tried looking at phone calls to the dock where we found that container," he told them. "But the only unexplained numbers are from burner phones."

"A different one every time?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, he knows what he's doing," Esposito replied. "And I tried to look for him using the last known address he had before he went off grid, but the trail got lost after two apartments."

"Is there any way we can ask the FBI what they know?" Castle then suggested. "I'm sure Garcia's been in contact with you."

"I called him earlier, told him we can't really get a lead on where the younger Bremner is," Ryan answered. "And I asked if we could have some kind of information on him, what they know. He said the only thing they knew was from what Julia's mother had told them. And even she had no clue where Bremner lived."

"What about where they worked? An office?" Castle began to ask. "No wait," he said when Esposito opened his mouth. "They worked at Maureen O'Malley's home up until recently."

"Yeah, and there's no other known secretaries," Ryan said. "We contacted the FCC to see what we could get from them about FS, but they have the minimum of information about it."

The three men were silent then as they looked over at the board and at the two pictures again. While they were looking at them, someone called to Ryan and Esposito.

"Detectives," Agent Garcia said, standing by them. "I have someone who insists on speaking with you."

The elder Bremner brother walked down to the three and said, "I was just released and I found out about the kidnapping of your colleague and… the child." He trailed off as he saw the pictures of Beckett and Julia and asked, "Is that the little girl?"

"It is," Castle said. "Why don't we talk someone a little more quiet?" wanting to put the man at ease since he could tell that he was tense with anxiety.

"Yes, I want to help you, tell you whatever I know about my half-brother so you can find the girl and stop him from kidnapping again," Bremner said fervently.

* * *

"Can you tell us anything about where your brother is now Mr. Bremner?" Ryan asked as he and Castle were in the interview room, Esposito talking to the FBI agent in Gates' office.

"No, I lost contact with him and I have no idea where he's gone," Bremner said, looking down into the cup of coffee he'd been given. "But I know his last address was 147th Street, if that helps you at all."

"It might," Ryan said.

"Mr. Bremner, since you don't have any information on his whereabouts, why don't you tell us about your brother himself," Castle said.

"He's my half brother, I told you and Detective Beckett, and he's always been… very competitive with me since he was a teenager," Bremner said. "I have no clue what triggered that, but he's always tried to one up me on things, girlfriends, jobs, wives, kids."

"Your wife Mr. Bremner, did she know your brother before you started dating?" Castle then asked.

"Of course, she lived directly across the street from us when we were kids, actually up until the point she and I went to college, we're the same age," Bremner answered. "Why?"

"Was your brother ever interested in her?" Ryan then asked, sensing why Castle had asked that.

"Yeah, he was, I'm not sure if he really had any romantic tendre for her, or if it was just to try and take her away from me," Bremner said. "He was incredibly angry when we started dating in college, and he never went to our wedding either. What does this have to do with the kidnappings?"

"Has he ever seen your daughters?" Castle asked.

"No, he… he told me he never wants to see his nieces, I, that's when we were estranged last year," Bremner said. "I called him out on that, since he's never seen them, and he told me he doesn't want to see the daughters that should be his."

"I would say that makes him more than a little in love with your wife," Ryan said, glancing at Castle as he pressed his fist to his mouth.

"Yes, I thought that was why he married Lenore, his wife," Bremner then said, glancing at Castle briefly. "She looked nearly identical to Jessica, my wife. And, there's something you should know about their son that passed, he wasn't my brother's child."

"What?" Castle asked, looking back at the man. "He, did he know that?"

"No, not until a year after his son's death," Bremner said. "Turns out the father was at the cemetery where Lenore and William are buried and they had an altercation."

"Was it reported to the police?" Ryan asked.

"It was, but I tried my best to keep it quiet because our father was dying and I didn't want that to distress him any more than he already was," Bremner replied with a sigh.

"So there's no police report, was there any kind of legal procedure, anything?" Ryan asked.

"No, I managed to keep the father quiet by paying for his medical bills and reminding him that he'd fathered my brother's son," Bremner said. "Which I shouldn't have done, maybe I could have stopped this, those girls… your colleague."

"I don't think so," Castle said. "When was your youngest daughter born?"

"About five years ago," Bremner said.

"Around the time your nephew was born?" Castle asked.

"A few months before him," Bremner said. He had a sudden look of realization on his face and said, "You think it's because my daughter survived and his son didn't that he started this?"

"At the beginning, yes, but now, I think it's become a mix of trying to get back at you for whatever you did to him in his mind, and the money," Castle replied as Bremner looked aghast at the idea.

* * *

"Ryan," Castle said once the detective had returned from escorting Bremner out of the Precinct, reassuring the CEO that they would be doing their best to shut his brother's operation down. "I need to speak to the guy we caught at the docks."

"Montego? He's down at-" Ryan started to say.

"I know, down at lock-up, but I have to talk with him," Castle said. "There are some questions only he's going to be able to answer."

"Alright, hold on," Ryan said as he went over to Esposito and talked to him briefly before he nodded to Castle and started to walk to the elevator.

"I need to speak with him on my own," Castle said as they were going down. "I know, I'm not a cop, but I… I can't think of an excuse or lie; you have to let me interview him alone."

Ryan stared at Castle for a while and then said, "You're not thinking about going after her on your own are you?"

"No, as much as I want to, I know it wouldn't really help her or Julia," Castle said, ignoring the fact that he had only been asking about Beckett. "I need all the help I can get on this."

Though the phrase was very strange, Ryan only nodded and said, "I'll talk to the guards, make sure they know you've talked to him before, let it slip he maybe only trusts you because you're not NYPD."

"I'll owe you," Castle said gratefully.

"Just find out where the hell they're keeping Beckett and Julia and we'll call it even," Ryan said before they stepped out and walked quickly to his car.

* * *

"Mr. Montego," Castle said in the interview room he was waiting in as the prisoner was brought inside. "I have a few questions for you."

"Where's that cop that was with you?" Montego said, standing instead of taking the only chair in the room.

"That's what I need to ask you about. Sit please, I don't really have a lot of time," Castle said, gesturing to the chair.

"I'll stand, you're no cop," Montego said.

"Fine," Castle said tersely, wondering if he'd get an honest answer from the man who had a black eye and cut on his arm that was wrapped in bandages. "You said that the Boss only takes illegal immigrants because they're harder to find and no one really worries about them. But does he ever take girls of other races?"

"You mean white girls? Sure, but those are his specials," Montego said. "And he doesn't really do that too often. I remember the guy I talk with at the dock, said that there was a very special shipment that was gonna go out… tomorrow. Oh, now I know why you're here. He took a _gringa_ didn't he?"

"He did, and someone else," Castle said. "What's the age range of the… girls?"

"About three to ten," Montego said with a shrug.

"Do you ever take women?" Castle then asked, his heart sinking as a wide smile appeared on the man's face in response.

"Heard there was a cop that was kidnapped this morning on the news, didn't see who it was, but now I know," Montego said, walking over to the windows in the room, standing across from Castle who was at the other end of the bared panes of glass. "The Boss took your partner."

"Do you take women?" Castle repeated, resisting the urge to run over and strangle the man to get his smirk off his face.

"They do, but those are specials too," Montego said, looking out the window. "And those the Boss chooses himself."

"He was there at the docks," Castle said, leaning against the wall. "And he saw her there."

"Yeah, those I heard he samples himself before he sends them off," Montego said.

"What?" Castle asked, standing up straight.

"You heard what I said," Montego shot back. "And he'll do the same with your partner. He always does that with the women since they're his own choice; they're the kinds he likes."

"And he sends them with the girls," Castle said fighting the rising bile in his throat.

"Yep, same house in Bangkok, right outside the city," Montego said, walking around Castle with a smile. "Have been there myself. Not for the girls, not my taste though they say the guy named Black is always eager to test the newer shipments, mainly the specials. But a lot of business there, the Boss is a rich man."

"By trading girls and women," Castle said angrily, losing his control then as he turned to Montego who was standing close to his right.

"I bet he'll have a lot of fun with your partner before he sells her," Montego then said. "Who knows? She might be as expensive as the girl once he gets done with trying her c-"

Castle stopped the man by punching him square in his already blackened eye as hard as he could, not surprised when the door to the room flew open and Ryan was trying to keep the guards from grabbing him as Montego stood up after falling to the floor.

"Stop," Montego said in annoyance, his eye shut tightly. "I brought it on myself, and it'll go down well in the yard. Just get me out of here before he kills me."

"You'll be lucky if we don't press charges against-" one of the guards said as Montego was led out of the room.

"No charges," Montego said, stopping at the doorway. "I pushed him to it. Hey writer," he then directed to Castle, who was slowly unclenching his hand from a fist. "You wanna find her and the _niña_? _La familia_." And with that he let the guards lead him out of the room.

"The family?" Ryan said, looking at Castle. "Come on, we better go before they decide to ignore what he said about charging you with assault."

"You heard what he said?" Castle asked as they started to leave the jail.

"No, no intercom for that room, it's broken and all the other rooms are full with prisoners and visitors," Ryan said. "Why? What else did he tell you?"

"Besides about the family, why the hell they took Beckett," Castle said, looking down at the back of his hand which was turning red. He wasn't very proud of punching the man, but had a certain kind of satisfaction shutting him up about what might possibly happen to Beckett if he didn't find her and Julia in time.

* * *

"Sir," Ryan said as he and Castle entered Gates' office with Esposito coming in behind them. "We know why they took Beckett."

"Okay, and how did you come by this information?" Gates asked, looking over her glasses at them both.

"Castle and I talked with Montego, we thought he knew more than he was telling us," Ryan said quickly as Castle started to speak.

"They're going to send her to Thailand, to a house outside of Bangkok where they keep the other girls they send," Castle said quickly. "Apparently they take girls that are Caucasian sometimes because they're worth more."

"And Beckett?" Gates asked.

"They've taken a few women, and according to Montego, they're chosen because they're Caucasian and I think they fit a standard look," Castle said. He showed the Captain the picture of the elder Mr. Bremner's wife and said, "They're likely all brunettes with brown eyes."

"And Beckett fit that criteria," Gates said as she looked at the picture. "Were you able to get anything else that would help us find her and Julia O'Malley at all?"

"He told me, as he was being escorted out of the room, something about the family," Castle said.

"Whose family?" Gates said. She shook her head and said, "Look into everyone from the Bremners to Montego, somewhere there has to be a clue. I need to talk to Agent Garcia and inform him about this development. If you find anything, let me know."

Leaving the office, Esposito stopped Castle by his desk and said, "You get into a fight while you were at the jail?" gesturing with his chin to his hand.

"I don't think Montego's family has anything to do with where they're keeping Beckett and Julia," Castle said, hiding his hand slightly. "Better check Harris Bremner."

"Yeah, that's just dead end after dead end," Ryan said. "Remember we can't get anything with his financials."

"Can you try and find his property holdings? If he has any?" Castle said. "And is there a way to get in touch with his older brother?"

"Yeah, we have his number," Ryan said, going to his desk and rifling through his papers before he handed one to Castle. "Why do you want to call him?"

"I'll let you know once I get the answer," Castle said before he walked over to Beckett's desk. He sat in his chair instead of hers, uncomfortable taking it as he picked up her phone, feeling as if he might be admitting she had vanished completely doing that. He quickly dialed the number to Mr. Bremner's office, and was able to remind his secretary who he was before he was put through to the CEO. "Mr. Bremner, this is Mr. Castle, we spoke not too long ago at the 12th Precinct?" he said quickly, looking over at Ryan and Esposito who were looking at their computer screens.

"Oh, Mr. Castle, yes, I remember, have you found your partner and the girl?" Bremner asked.

"No, we're still searching, and I'm wondering if maybe you might be able to answer a question I have about your brother's past," Castle said.

"If I can, of course," Bremner replied.

"When his son was born, do you know where he was living at the time?" Castle asked.

"Yes, he was living in a house in Queens actually. And he stayed there until his son passed away before moving into Manhattan," Bremner said.

"Thank you very much Mr. Bremner, we'll call in case we have more questions for you," Castle said before he hung up after the CEO had spoken. He went over to Ryan and Esposito saying, "Beckett's in Queens."

"How do you know that? His property holdings are a bust bro," Esposito said in surprise as Ryan hung up his phone.

"He used to own an apartment here in the city but that was five months ago," Ryan said. "And apparently he only went to the realty company for that apartment. I can't get anything else before or since then."

"I asked Mr. Bremner where his brother was living at the time his son was born and he said Queens," Castle explained. When Ryan and Esposito didn't say anything to that he quickly said, "Everything starts after the death of his son. It all has a connection to that event because that's when he started the trafficking ring. So if he's going to collect girls until he's ready to put them into containers, he needs a pretty big place to keep them."

"Not a warehouse?" Ryan asked.

"No, a house, in Queens," Castle said firmly. "And if he's smart, he can make it look like there's nothing at all suspicious going on in it and carry out everything easily."

"How do we find it though if you're right?" Esposito said. "We've got nothing."

"Search and see what his address was at the time of his wife's and son's death," Castle said. "About five years ago."

Ryan quickly started typing, and after a minute he said, "A 1560 West Bay Street, but it's owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Blackstone." He typed again and then shook his head, "They're legit, he's a firefighter and he's listed at an engine house in Queens, apparently was affected by the plane crash there in '01, there's an article with his info."

"Now what?" Esposito asked as Castle walked to the murder board and looked at the picture of their suspect.

"Wait, Montego was saying the family, _la familia_ ," Castle said, turning back to the detectives. "What if he bought the property in his wife's name?"

"Lenore Bremner," Ryan said as he typed again in the search engine as Castle and Esposito came up behind him. "No, nothing," he said when there was no match.

"Then try his son. William Bremner," Castle said.

"Got it," Ryan said. "Three houses, all in Queens, and close to West Bay if I remember the area."

"This guy is one sick son of a bitch," Esposito said. "Doing it on property he bought in his son's name?"

"He's trying to get revenge against his brother since his niece lived while his son didn't," Castle said as Ryan wrote down the three addresses. "It doesn't make sense, but then it never usually does."

"I'll go tell Gates, and hopefully we can start canvassing," Ryan said before he hurried over to the office, Esposito following him.

Turning to the board, Castle looked at the picture of Harris Bremner and then the pictures of Beckett and Julia again. He knew they were close with the three addresses and only hoped they had enough time left for both Beckett and Julia's sake.

* * *

"This does not look like a place to hide little girls," Esposito commented as he pulled up to the first house they'd gotten in Queens.

"Yeah, well, that is probably the point," Ryan said as they all go out of the car and walked up to the front door. He knocked and when an older woman opened it he showed his shield and said, "Ma'am, I'm from the NYPD."

"Has something happened to my husband?" the woman asked worriedly.

"No ma'am, we've been investigating a case, and it's led us to your home," Esposito said. "Can we speak with you?"

"Of course, come in please," the woman said, starting to move aside.

"That's alright, we can see this isn't the right place," Esposito said. "But do you think you can tell me how you got this home?"

"Oh, we're only renting it right now," the woman said. "My husband Ernie and I are trying to buy it, but the owner isn't selling the property."

"Do you ever see him?" Castle then asked.

"The owner? Oh no, we only are in contact with a Mr. Spade, his representative," the woman said. "A nice young man, he picks up our rent every six months. We're not even sure the name of the owner… it's either Harris or Bremner, one of those."

"And does this Mr. Spade ever enter your home?" Esposito said.

"No, no, he just stands here on the porch and takes our check before he leaves," the woman said.

"Is there any way you can get in contact with him?" Esposito asked.

"Actually… no, we're supposed to get in contact with him only rent days," the woman said. "Which is strange I suppose, but we've never really had any problems with that system."

"Do you know anything about the homes at 1445 Blue Street or 1294 State Avenue?" Ryan then asked, reading from his list.

"No, not at all," the woman replied. "Are those the other homes you found along with ours?"

"Thank you for your help ma'am," Ryan said, nodding to her before he, Esposito and Castle left the porch. "Okay, so should we try the Blue Street address n-" he started to say as they got into the car. His phone rang then, cutting him off and he answered it quickly after seeing the number on the screen.

Castle was surprised when Ryan suddenly motioned for Esposito to pull the car over and leaned against the front seats as he hung up. "Well?" he asked as the detective was looking at his phone with a strange expression on his face.

"You're not going to like this," Ryan said, turning to Castle. "That was Gates and she called Garcia about our find, and he's calling us back to the Precinct."

"What?" Esposito said angrily. "When we're this close to finding Beckett and Julia?"

"Yeah, well, turns out he wants search warrants," Ryan said. "I think he's going by the book."

"But we're not even searching the houses," Castle said.

"I told her but she said he insisted and threatened to take us off the case unless we complied. Starting with you Castle," Ryan said.

Esposito swore bitterly before he turned them around, driving back the way they'd come from the city. "Did she say how long it'll take to get warrants?"

"Probably not until tomorrow morning," Ryan said. "It's past five; we won't be able to get a judge until then."

Castle sat back then and looked out the window, deciding that if he was going to be stopped from finding Beckett, he'd try the next best thing he could while his hands were tied and his resources were so limited in the situation he was facing; where even his resources couldn't help him find his girlfriend or Julia. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt as helpless, not even when he and Beckett had woken up handcuffed and stuck in a basement facing a starving tiger. He shook his head and quickly got his phone, texting himself the addresses, ready to head back home and to his computer, his only tool.

* * *

"Richard, did you find her yet?" Martha asked as her son walked into the loft.

"Nothing Mother," Castle said as he locked the door behind him. "Alexis?"

"Class, you found nothing though, not even a clue?" Martha said as she handed him a glass of wine.

"I better not, I need to look into some things and I don't know if I want to have a buzz tonight," Castle said. "But we found three possible houses she and Julia might be held in."

"And? Why didn't you go look?" Martha asked in surprise.

"We looked at one, it's a residence and the only clue there was the fact that one of Harris Bremner's thugs is the rent collector," Castle said, throwing his coat on the couch. "We were going to look at the other two when Gates called, the FBI agent called us back to get warrants to search the houses."

"Search warrants? But you're only looking at them, not going in aren't you?" Martha asked as she followed him into his office.

"This agent wants to get all the evidence he can to prosecute Harris, but thinks we might screw things up only looking for Kate and Julia," Castle said, anger in his tone as he leaned on his desk.

"You didn't punch him did you?" Martha asked, looking down at his hand.

"What?" Castle said, his head shooting up. He followed his mother's gaze and saw she was looking at his hand which was slightly bruised around his knuckles. "No… I talked to that guy we caught at the dock in the container. He told me the Boss is going to probably… rape Kate before he sends her to Thailand."  
"Oh Richard," Martha said in shock.

"Yeah, so I'm hoping he'll forgive me for punching the already black eye he had," Castle said, shaking his head. "But he clued me in on the homes, said the _familia_ , and we found out Harris bought these three homes in his son's name."

"His dead son?" Martha asked.

"I know, it doesn't really make sense, but that's where we are," Castle said, sitting down in his chair. "Two addresses and Kate and Julia held there by a rapist, child rapist and two other men who're nothing more than hired thugs."

"Child… please don't tell me they're going to touch Julia," Martha said.

"Not yet, not until they sell her," Castle said, bile rising in his throat at the thought of someone touching Julia. The image quickly turned into Beckett, and he stood up quickly, going to where the liquor was kept before he poured himself half a glass of brandy, tossing that back almost fully to try and get rid of the image. "I wanted to look at the street maps they have on the search engines. See if maybe I can narrow things down for us to get to the house a lot faster," he said as he sat back at his desk.

"Good luck kiddo," Martha said when he looked up at her. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Thanks Mother," Castle called as she left. He sighed and then turned to the computer, watching as the address came up on the map he'd searched in. He started zooming into the house that was on Blue Street, but he could see that it was another family home. He quickly checked to see when the picture had been taken, but found it was only two months before.

Typing in the next address, when the picture came up on the screen, Castle was a little startled to see a car pulling into a tall gated home. He enlarged the image, and saw that it was a black SUV with heavily tinted windows. Swearing under his breath when he saw that there wasn't a clear enough shot of the license plate, he then turned his attention to what he could see of the house through the open gate. The house looked perfectly normal, but there seemed to be something wrong with the windows. He zoomed in on them, and realized that there was nothing but white at the windows instead of the darkness of the rooms inside.

Grabbing his phone, Castle dialed Ryan's number, and as soon as he answered he told the detective as soon as he had greeted him, "Check out the State Avenue house."

There was silence on the other end until Ryan suddenly whistled, "He messed up."

"I know, is there any way to speed up the warrant?" Castle asked, standing up and trying not to run for the door as he paced next to his desk.

"Unfortunately no," Ryan said. "Gates tried to get Garcia to somehow get a judge to sign it since he's with the Feds, but he's refusing until a Judge Bishop can return from out of town tomorrow morning and sign."

"Does he not care that Beckett and Julia are going to be sent tomorrow to Thailand? Sent today," Castle said as he looked at his watch and saw the time had just gone past midnight.

"Yeah, I told him, both me and Esposito, but he's says he's holding back because he wants to throw the book at Harris," Ryan said. "There's not much we could do without getting ourselves thrown off the case, or fired."

"I'm sure Gates would love if I ran out there to State Avenue," Castle said. "Call Esposito, let him know what I found."

"What are you going to do?" Ryan asked, recognizing the determination in the tone of his voice.

"Look into some of the papers from the vic's will," Castle said. "We have no clue when they'll ship out the next bunch of girls, we need to see how much time we; they; have left." When he had said goodbye to Ryan and his phone was back on the desk he went to the file of copied papers behind him and started to look through them. The pile was substantial, and it took time to check for the times and numbers. After a while he realized that there wasn't any real set time, but they all seemed to have one thing in common, they were sent around midnight or a little past it. He breathed in deeply as he considered that Beckett and Julia might be in a container at that moment, unconscious and on the way to Thailand. He shook his head, trying to put the thought out of his mind as he wrote down on a notepad the three times that seemed to pop up most often; 11:52, 11:20 and 11:47.

Looking at his laptop, Castle wondered where in the house Beckett and Julia were being kept. He looked at the clock in the bottom right corner of the screen, seeing the time changed just as he glanced at it to 1:50. There were only twenty-two hours left until they lost the chance to get them back. With each second the dawn of the third of May was approaching. Time was running out, and fast.


	8. It Can Hurt You

"Alright, we've seen the way these guys work," Esposito was saying as he, Ryan and Castle got out of the car near the State Avenue home the morning of the third. "We need to be careful, Castle; you stay behind as much as you can bro."

"Got it," Castle said with a nod as he put on his vest.

"I want Mr. Bremner alive Detectives," Agent Garcia said, coming over to them from his car he'd driven from the city behind them.

"And if he starts shooting us?" Ryan asked.

"Return fire, but please try to just wound him. Don't need to give this guy the easy way out," Garcia replied, putting on a bulletproof vest. "I'll let you two take the lead in after I can get the gate opened. One of you, I don't care who, kick in the door and I'll lead inside the house. Watch your backs. And you," he said, looking at Castle. "Does he really need to be here?" he asked Ryan and Esposito.

"He's helped us before," Ryan said shortly, sharing an irritated look with Esposito. "You sure you can get the gate opened."

"Yes, and if you have to come, you'll be the one calling for backup if it comes to that," Garcia said shortly, directing the last to Castle.

They walked across the street, keeping an eye on the house, assuming there were likely cameras watching the perimeter of the property. Agent Garcia, hugging the fence with his back when he had reached it first hurried to the gate. He looked at the intercom and he nodded back at the other three men, as an indication he would be able to get it open.

Watching as he stood behind Ryan and Esposito, Castle glanced at the house, what he could see of it over the fence, and heard an electric sizzle before Garcia whistled under his breath. He followed the two men to the gate, and stayed back as far as he could as the agent held out his hand to stop him while Esposito pushed the gate open, Ryan holding up his gun. Bracing himself for a shot, he was surprised when there was nothing in response as the gate slid completely open. Breathing out, he followed the other three up to the front door when there was a sudden gunshot inside the house.

As soon as the sound cracked through the air, Ryan and Esposito took cover behind some trees while Garcia pushed Castle behind another, taking cover with him.

"Remember how I said you'd call for backup?" the agent asked. When Castle nodded and took out his phone, he turned back to the house and motioned with his head for Esposito to go first.

The four men headed up the stairs of the porch as carefully as they could, Castle putting away his phone. Esposito, once Ryan and Garcia were on either side, kicked open the door and moved to the side as Garcia headed in first. Stepping in behind him, Ryan looked up at the top of the stairs that began in the foyer while Esposito behind him took the doorway to the left.

Castle hesitated at the doorway after the others had gone in, and finally took a deep breath before he stepped in. He glanced up at the stairs, and thought he had seen something when there was the sudden shot of a weapon, followed by three others.

"Castle, get out!" Esposito yelled as he ran out and aimed for Harris Bremner who was standing at the top of the stairs, aiming a gun at Castle.

Though he realized he had seen Beckett at the top of the stairs, Castle ran onto the porch of the house and stood next to the doorway as the loud sound of numerous gunshots echoed from inside. He yelled in surprise when bullets whizzed past him, splintering the doorway, and he ran down the stairs, turning back at the trees to look up at the windows to make sure no one was aiming at him. It was then he heard the sounds of sirens, and he ran back to the house as he saw in the back Esposito and Ryan running after three men. Realizing the house was quiet, he took off at a run, his heavy breathing echoing through the yard with each step on the dead grass, the wood of the stairs before he burst through the doorway into the blackness inside.

* * *

"Try and eat a little bit Julia," Beckett was saying as she held a small piece of bread they'd been given by one of the men a few minutes later. She sighed when the little girl shook her head and said, "I don't blame you, I don't feel like eating either." She wrapped her arm around Julia tightly as the girl cuddled against her side, shaking, and she had to wonder how much time had passed. She glanced down at her wrist where her watch should have been, and tensed up at the same time as Julia when they both heard the heavy, quick steps of four men coming close.

Trembling, Julia screamed shortly as the creaking sound of the door echoed in the room and Beckett hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.

"It's okay, they're going into another room," Beckett said hurriedly, breathing out as she heard muffled talking in the next room. She suppressed a shudder at the laughter that came from the men, and screams from what she guessed were two little girls. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around Julia securely, holding her to her. She guessed that the men were gathering the girls, preparing them for the trip to the shipping container, and she braced herself, tightening her grip on Julia.

The two listened, tense as the men went from room to room around them, and the girls inside each one would scream before there was an awful, lingering silence. After a while, there was the sound of heavy footsteps, going back and forth to the rooms, and then they neared their room.

"Alright," Harris said, holding a gun in his hand as he opened the door for the three men. "Get the girl ready, but be careful, woman'll fight back."

"Got it," the third man said as Black and Spade walked to the two, holding their guns aimed at Beckett.

Watching the two men, Beckett waited for as long as she dared, and then kicked out at Spade, going for his right arm. As the man yelled and dropped his gun while he clutched at his right hand in pain as her boot gouged out a piece of skin from the back of his hand, Black pointed his gun at the back of Julia's head.

"Try that again and I will hurt her," Black said.

"Wrap that up Spade," Harris said. "We'll take over here." He stepped into the room after the other man, and aimed his gun at Beckett. "Right between the eyes Detective," he warned her. "Let go of the kid."

Beckett's response was to hold Julia closely to her and she whispered quickly to her, "Hold on tight."

"Black?" Harris asked.

"Right," Black said with a smirk as he waited for the other man to add his aim to Beckett's head. He cocked his gun, and pressed it to Beckett's forehead before he grabbed her left wrist in a vise-like grip, making her hiss before she kicked out at him. He was able to dodge it and then pointed the gun to her throat as he still couldn't get her to let go.

"Spade?" Harris said, hearing footsteps behind him. "The chloroform."

"Got it Boss," Spade said, sounding angry. He hurriedly grabbed fabric and a bottle, and soaked it before he waited for the third man to get a hold of Beckett's hand while he and Harris were aiming at her head still. He yelled when she kicked at him, but was able to stomp on her leg, making her yell in turn in obvious pain. "Black, her other leg!" he bellowed as Beckett tried to kick with her free leg.

Stomping down on Beckett's ankle, Black nodded to Spade, who grabbed Julia, or attempted to.

Beckett, panicking, managed to get her left wrist out of Black's grip, and scratched at Spade's face as hard as she possibly could, drawing blood. The action caused the three men to fall back from her as she held onto Julia tightly. "Don't touch her or I will hurt you worse than that," she warned.

"Get out of the way," Harris said, holstering his gun. He strode up to Beckett, dodging her legs and her left hand before he punched her to Julia's shriek of horror. "Tie up her legs," he ordered.

Feeling someone grabbing her legs, Beckett realized that she needed to stop them, needed to move. But she was in a daze, trying to remember where she was and trying to hold on to consciousness before she passed out. She felt someone grabbing her arm and she tried to fight back, but by then it was too late, Spade was tying it to the radiator behind her.

Grabbing at Julia, Spade had to pull hard for the child, who was screaming in fear, to get her to let go of Beckett. Once he had her in his arms, he picked up the handkerchief of chloroform on the floor, and put it over her mouth as she struggled in his arms.

"No, son of a bitch!" Beckett yelled as she tried to get free from the radiator. She watched as Julia soon went limp, and she tried to pull her hand out from the tie on her left wrist, but the knot was too strong. She felt sick as she watched Spade put Julia under his arm and head out of the room.

"Not really so tough," Black laughed as he cocked his gun and put it under Beckett's chin as a tear fell down her cheek, making her look up as Harris walked up to her again.

"No, let's me know she'll be harder to tame, but it can be done," Harris said, cupping Beckett's chin as Black pointed the gun at her head. "I should charge Wilton double for her. Are you ready?"

"Ready," the other man said with a nod as Black nodded as well.

Beckett, knowing that Harris was likely about to attack her, tried to bite at his fingers, but he moved them away and immediately slapped her on the cheek, hard enough for her to make her hit her head against the radiator. She could feel blood rushing through her mouth as he brought his face close to hers so they were looking eye to eye.

"You'll pay for that bitch," Harris said. He jerked back as Beckett spat at him, her blood getting all over his face. "Get her up, get her the fuck up!" he yelled as he stepped back, wiping at his face roughly.

Trying to take the opportunity to get free, Beckett attempted to kick at the two men before she was untied and the cuff was taken off the radiator at the same time. She managed to kick the other man in the shin, but he didn't budge as he brought the other handcuff over to her left wrist that he was holding and she trying to hit him next with her bound hands.

"You want her feet tied Boss?" the other man asked.

"Yes, you'll have to help her out. I'm taking her to the main room and doing it there," Harris asked.

"Unconscious?" Black asked.

Harris stepped up to Beckett as she struggled against Black, his hand pulling her hair back, leaving her neck exposed for the knife he had in his hand while the other man aimed his gun at the top of her head. "Not even going to give you that," he snarled at her as she looked at him. He smirked and said, "I will make it hurt." He then turned around and said, "Black, Vasquez, let's go."

Still trying to fight, though her hair was nearly being pulled off her head, Beckett made the two men drag her, which they were easily able to do. Outside the room, in a hallway, she started to thrash back and forth, trying to do anything she could before Harris got her away from the two men.

"Damn it, Boss, she's fighting, she might fall down the stairs!" Vasquez yelled to Harris who was starting down.

"Drop her right there," Harris said as he turned back to them, withdrawing his gun.

Black swung out his leg, and tripped Beckett to the floor so her head bounced against it slightly. He backed up as she started to get up and he fired a shot into the ceiling to make her stop.

"Go," Harris said then. "And make sure Spade's got the girl ready, she's worth more to us than this one right now." When the two men had left he cocked his gun and pointed it at her. "I guess this'll have to be a lot faster than I was planning." He reached down for her head and pulled her up by the hair, forcing her to push herself up as she yelled in pain. "Scream louder Detective, every single person in this house except for my men and I are out," he taunted her. He smothered her lips with his, crushing them painfully before he pulled back with a yell. "Bitch," he said, blood pouring from the bite to the side of his lips.

Beckett fell back on the floor as Harris shoved her, and she managed to keep her head from hitting the floor. She had no time to react when her attacker got on top of her and pulled out a knife. She struggled, thinking he was going to stab her, and she had a horrible vision of her dying in the same way her mother had. Luckily, there was only the sound of ripping fabric, and Harris tore her coat to shreds with his knife before he reached down to her neck. She gasped and let out a choked scream as he started to strangle her, and she hit at his hands with her bound wrists.

"Don't think you're getting out of this so easy," Harris said. "Stop fucking moving or I'll make you watch while I let Black rape that girl over and over." He was surprised when Beckett stopped immediately, and he smirked saying, "Thought that might do it. Idiot, you think I'd let that freak touch that girl?" He let go of her throat, and all of sudden Beckett swung her arms down hard, striking him in the forehead. He staggered, but managed to recover, and he tore at her blouse with one hand while the other grabbed her hands.

Beckett had felt the tie around her legs loosening in her struggle, and as soon as they were free, she drove her knee into Harris' groin, twice before he got off of her. She rolled onto her side to try and get up when he grabbed her by the hair and throat. She tried to duck his open hand, but wasn't quick enough, getting hit on the side of the face. She brought her arms up again as he was recovering from that, and brought them down on his head, using the handcuffs to make a cut across his forehead appear. Ignoring the pain in her wrists as the cuffs cut into her skin, she did it a second time before he ran into her and shoved her against the wall behind her hard, knocking the wind out of her.

Harris slid Beckett down to the floor, and straddled her stomach, choking her again before she could recover her breath. There was a sudden yell from downstairs and he turned his head towards it, unable to make out what Vasquez was saying.

That was enough of an opening for Beckett to hit him with the handcuffs again before he got off her, and she started to get up when he rolled off of her from the hit to his forehead, running for the stairs. But before she could take more than a few steps, she was hit on the side of the head, and she fell to the ground, into a black nothingness, knowing she had lost her chance to save Julia, and herself.

* * *

Running up the stairs, Castle saw that Harris was at the top, half of his body over the top three stairs. He didn't stop to check if the man was alive, the blood coming down the steps and the open wound in the back of the body telling him Esposito had hit him directly in the heart before he could shoot the gun on the staircase. He passed the body, and ran to where he could see Beckett, laying on her side, her eyes closed. His steps stumbled slightly as he took her in, a nasty cut on the side of her hairline bleeding freshly. There was a darkening bruise directly under her left eye and her lip was cut on the left side, blood all over her slightly open blouse and chin. He shook himself, and ran the rest of the way to her, praying he wasn't too late as he knelt next to her.

"Kate?" Castle asked, touching her cheek that had a livid red mark of a hand on it. He was startled when her eyes suddenly opened and she started to swing her hands at him, trying to hit him with the handcuffs. "Kate! It's me, Richard Castle!" he said, grabbing her arms to stop her.

Breathing roughly as blood snaked down the left side of her face, Beckett recognized that it was Castle, and she sat up, throwing her arms around him and embracing him as tightly as she could with her hands bound, his arms closing around her as firmly as hers around him. She closed her eyes in relief as she knew that the ordeal was over, and then she stiffened, pulling back. "Julia?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Castle said before she started to get up. "Wait, are you sure you should-"

"I'm fine, please," Beckett said as he helped her get to her feet. "I need to find her, she's injured."

Castle quickly got his handcuff key from his wallet and opened the ones around her wrists, wincing at the sight of them, bloodied from what he guessed was fighting against the attackers and Harris.

"Castle?" Ryan yelled from downstairs. "Castle I found Julia!"

"Beckett's right here," Castle said as he helped her over to the stairs, holding onto her in case she might fall since the floor was covered in blood. He led the way to a hall to the left of the front door and saw Ryan standing in the middle of it.

"She's…" Ryan started to say before he saw Beckett. He looked at Castle and then said quickly, "She's in here, unconscious."

"They gave her chloroform after they took her from me," Beckett said simply before she rushed into the room Ryan was indicating. She ran to the bed that Julia was lying in, straps pulled over her body, holding her down. She hurriedly took them off and then placed her hand on the girl's cheek. "Julia?" she whispered, knowing she wasn't likely going to get a response. "Did-" she started to say before her voice broke slightly at the sight of the little girl pale except for the red scab of her head wound. "Did anyone call for ambulances?"

"Yeah, I did, Garcia was shot before we got the three guys trying to escape out the back. Luckily he only got winged in the shoulder," Ryan said, watching as Beckett sat on the bed, stroking Julia's face. "Are you okay Beckett?"

"I will be once she wakes up," Beckett said. There was the sound of sirens then, and she turned to Castle saying, "She needs to go to the hospital _now_."

Nodding, Castle started to leave when Ryan stopped him saying, "I'll go, I need to check and see if Espo and Garcia need any help with the attackers."

"What happened to them?" Beckett asked, her voice toneless.

"We had to shoot them, they were firing at us, it looks pretty bad for all of them, but Esposito and Garcia are trying to help two of them," Ryan said before he left.

Turning back to Beckett, Castle put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Harris is dead."

"I know," Beckett replied simply, never taking her gaze off Julia.

Frowning, Castle was about to say something else when there was the sound of multiple footsteps and he hurried to the doorway to see the EMTs with a stretcher. "She's in here," he said quickly as he saw that Ryan wasn't with them. He stepped out of the way and watched as Beckett got up from the bed, letting them place Julia on the stretcher before the female medic checked Julia's eyes and pulse.

"Is she alright?" Beckett asked, following the stretcher.

"It looks like she's just unconscious," the woman said. "Likely from this head injury-"

"That was from two days ago," Beckett said quickly. "They knocked her out with chloroform today."

"We'll check her out at the hospital," the other medic said. He glanced at Beckett then and said, "I think you should be checked out as well ma'am."

"I'm not leaving her side," Beckett said firmly before they stepped out of the house. She looked around, having not been able to see the sky in two days, and looked down at Julia, taking her tiny hand into hers.

Castle followed Beckett up to the ambulance, and he hung back with her as the stretcher was put inside the back of the ambulance. He helped Beckett up in the back, and was surprised when she wouldn't let go of his hand. "Is it alright if I ride up front?" he asked the medics who were strapping the stretcher in.

"No, he can sit back here next to me," Beckett said quickly. "He won't get in the way."

"Alright, just hurry please," the man said.

Watching his girlfriend as he sat in the back and the female medic closed the door after him, Castle grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently in reassurance as the ambulance started, the siren wailing as they left the gated home. "She'll be okay," he whispered to her as he watched Beckett watching the medics checking on Julia and talking with a doctor over the radio.

Beckett didn't say anything, simply nodded, her eyes never leaving Julia's face, taking some small reassurance from the sight of her chest rising and falling with her steady breath. She had never felt as helpless in her life as she did then; knowing that her failure to keep Julia from being taken from her had led to the state the little girl was in at the moment. She squeezed Castle's hand, trying not to think of what would happen if Julia never opened her eyes again. She reached over and took Julia's hand once more, holding it tightly in her own, feeling Castle's hand on her back. She told herself then, repeatedly, as the female medic turned her attention to her and handed her an ice pack for the bruise under her eye, that Julia would recover, and she could try and rebuild the little girl's life and her own after what had happened. Beginning with becoming Julia's mother, what she had started four days before, the moment she had seen her coming out of the hidden room in her closet. She glanced over at Castle, and returned his brief smile, feeling that everything was finally over, she was safe and she was going to do everything she could to make sure that Julia would be protected as well from that moment on.


	9. Winding Up Inside Your Head

Walking out of the elevator on the fourth floor of the hospital, Castle tucked the doll and file he held under his arm as he approached Ryan, Esposito and Beckett's father who were in the waiting room. "Is she okay?" he asked Mr. Beckett.

"She came out of her room about a half hour ago," he replied, looking concerned. "I tried to take her back to her apartment, offered her a ride but… she won't leave the girl."

"But she's fine?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, the doctor checked her for a concussion but didn't find anything," Ryan answered. "And her cut on the lip isn't too bad, it doesn't need stitches and she scraped up her wrists a little. Other than that," he paused before he took a deep breath and took Castle's arm, leading him over to the windows looking out at the city. "I think it's more psychological now, she wouldn't even look at her father when she was wheeled over here."

"Has she seen anyone?" Castle said, not too surprised at that. But he was a little startled she wasn't acknowledging her father.

"No, he tried to go into her room," Esposito said, hanging up his phone as he walked to them. "But she told him she needed some time alone with Julia." He then glanced at Beckett's father and said, "And about fifteen minutes ago, a woman went inside the room. Looked official, she was carrying a bag."

"Who were you talking to?" Ryan asked.

"Lanie," Esposito said. "She has the bodies of the attackers and Harris down at the morgue. Bremner went to ID his brother's body, it is him, and he recognized the other three men as part of a Brazilian military group his brother met when he went down to start a branch of his brother's company there. And Lanie told me that Harris was pretty beat up. Had a cut across his forehead, and… his scrotum was basically pulp."

Castle's eyes went wide as Ryan winced slightly and he looked over to the hospital rooms where he knew Beckett was. He realized then what had likely happened to his girlfriend, and he swallowed hard before he turned to the two detectives and said, "Why don't I see if she'll talk with me."

"Yeah bro, you might have more luck," Esposito said. "We both tried after her dad went to the room and she wouldn't let us in. She's in room 534."

Nodding, Castle went over to the room and walked halfway down the hallway before he stopped and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Beckett asked from inside.

"It's Castle, Kate," he replied, wondering what her response would be. He was a little surprised when she quickly said, "Come in," and he hurriedly opened the door to find Beckett sitting with the woman he guessed Ryan had been talking about standing next to her as they were looking down at some papers.

"I'll file these as soon as I can Detective," the woman was saying as Beckett wrote on the paper before handing her the pen she held. "And I wish you good luck."

"Thank you," Beckett said as she stood while the woman left. When the door was closed she smiled briefly at Castle before she went to the bed where Julia was laying, still unconscious.

"Is she okay?" Castle asked quickly as he walked over to her.

"They gave her a CAT scan and some x-rays," Beckett said, taking the little girl's hand. "And nothing came up; they think it's likely too much chloroform. But she'll be fine once she comes out of it." She was surprised when Castle leaned over her, and she looked up at him as he set a doll next to Julia. Glancing at it, she saw that it was a Stitch doll and she began to say, "Is that-"

"No, her old one had her blood on it," Castle said. "So I rushed to a store, and bought her that." He looked at Beckett and saw she had her eyes closed and he touched her shoulder, seeing her fighting her emotions. "This is yours," he said as he handed her the file that he was carrying as well. "But I guess it's sort of unnecessary now if I'm guessing who that woman was correctly."

"Yeah, I… couldn't wait," Beckett said. "Wait, how did you get these?" she asked after seeing that the papers were ones she had expected to be delivered to her at the Precinct.

"The night you and Julia were taken," Castle said simply. "I put them in the file in case you didn't want anyone to know. I thought you might be hesitating since you didn't even mention it me."

"I wasn't sure of myself then," Beckett said, setting the file aside on the bed. "I filed for adoption the day after meeting her and…" She trailed off and sighed saying, "I still have my doubts about myself. Will I really be that great of a mother to her if I'm given custody of her? I've gone through a lot of psychological trauma, and I'm a detective. I don't have the safest job."

"You've recovered from what you've been through. Unless you're hiding something from me again," Castle pointed out, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. "And as for your job. Well, it was because of it you met Julia and could protect her." He was a little taken aback when Beckett rolled her eyes and he said, "What?"

"I couldn't keep her from getting kidnapped," Beckett said. She raised her hand when Castle opened his mouth to speak and said, "I know, they were after me too and had planned ahead, but still, I couldn't do anything to protect her once we were held hostage."

"But you tried," Castle said, reaching over and bushing his fingers against the bruise under her eye carefully.

Turning away, looking at Julia as she didn't want to remember what she had tried to do to protect the child, Beckett then whispered, "She started calling me mommy once I woke up in that house."

"She did?" Castle asked, looking at Julia who was still motionless on the bed except for her breathing. "Shock?"

"I don't know," Beckett said, she shrugged her shoulders and laughed; without any mirth. "Does it even matter? I tried to remind her she called me Kate, and I tried to remind her, subtly about how I found her in that secret room in her closet, but she doesn't remember anything."

"Are you sure that CAT scan came out alright?" Castle asked.

"I asked two nurses along with her doctor here," Beckett said, reaching up to Julia's hair and smoothing it away carefully from the gauze taped to her head wound. "They all said the same thing, she's perfectly fine."

"Kate," Castle said as he watched her. He put his hand on her back and said carefully, "If there's any way I can help you with the adoption. Connections or…" He hesitated, not sure she wouldn't get angry at his suggestion, but decided he needed to let her know how much he was willing to help and he continued saying, "Or financially if you need it, let me know and I'll do what I can."

"Thank you," Beckett said, smiling slightly at him. "But I think I'll be alright, I've called a lawyer and… we'll see what happens."

They were both quiet, looking at Julia before Castle said slowly, "Lanie talked with Esposito about Harris and his condition when he came into the morgue." When Beckett didn't respond, he then decided to try a different tactic and asked, "What happened there?"

Sighing inwardly, since she knew that she wasn't going to be able to avoid it for long, Beckett spoke saying, "After we were awake, a man came in, a buyer I'm going to guess, because he looked at both me and Julia. Talked about how she would get a high price; I'm guessing because she was Caucasian and the others were Hispanic?"

"Yeah, Montego told me that once in a while they got Caucasian girls for more money," Castle said.

"Well he looked at Julia and touched her… like he was testing out a horse," Beckett said, her pitch becoming angry at the end. "He hurt her Castle."

"And you?" he asked, wondering if she'd had to go through the same thing as he tried to calm down his anger at what had happened to her.

"Didn't really touch me," Beckett replied quickly. "But he wanted to keep me to himself, not sell me."

Castle quickly became sick at that and his right hand curled into a fist, trying to keep his anger under control. "And today?"

"Today, they basically beat me up trying to get Julia away from me," Beckett said, becoming tense as she remembered what had happened from the moment Harris had opened the door to the room she and Julia had been held in. She jumped slightly when she felt Castle's hand on her shoulder and she glanced up at him. "The sharpshooter of the three… he was a pedophile, I was lucky he didn't try and do anything to Julia. The only thing Harris was good for," she spoke quickly, trying to keep him from pushing her about what had happened to her.

"What did Harris do to you Kate?" Castle asked. "Because his injuries-"

"He tried to-" Beckett started to say angrily before she looked at Julia and then quickly shut up. She got off the bed, as if the child could hear her, and she went to the other side of the room, looking at Castle. "He tried to rape me." She wasn't surprised when he hurried over to her, a look of concern on his face and she said, "I was able to keep him from doing anything but tearing off the top two buttons on my blouse. And he kissed me, but I bit him on the lips."

Watching her, Castle gently put his arms around her, not surprised when she tensed up before she relaxed slightly but didn't hug him back. "That's what will make you a good mother. You weren't just trying to protect yourself," he murmured to her as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"No," Beckett whispered, tears in her eyes that she struggled to fight. "I was trying to protect her. The whole time I was with her, cuffed to the radiator in the room we were in, I was trying to figure out how to get her out of there and also guard her. You don't know that second I had before I was knocked out at the top of the stairs. Right before everything went black and I thought that I had failed Julia; and her mother too." She closed her eyes as the tears spilled onto her cheeks, and she wrapped her arms around Castle as tightly as she could, not even bothering to try and restrain her emotions anymore. "I thought that I was never going to see her again, and she would be in pain, abused… and worse and she would wonder where her mommy was, wondering why I couldn't have saved her."

"But that didn't happen," Castle tried to reassure her, running his hands up and down her back. "You did the best you could, but you were outnumbered, and out armed too. You had no weapon, and you still managed to do a lot of damage to those guys. Ryan told me what happened to the arm and face of one of the guys, besides Harris."

Beckett didn't say anything, trying to get her tears to stop falling. She finally let out a heavy sigh and said, "I can't keep beating myself up about what happened." She pulled away from him and turned towards the window, trying to keep him from looking at her as she wiped her cheeks quickly, trying to be surreptitious. "If I do that I'll drive myself insane, and that really wouldn't help Julia."

"Don't build another wall around this Kate," Castle said, closing the gap between them and grabbing her arm, making her turn to him. "This is not something you can repress without doing some serious damage to yourself."

"You mean like I did when we investigated that sniper?" Beckett replied. When Castle nodded briefly she nodded back and said, "I know, I'll… I'll work on it. I promise I won't let this come between us."

"I could care less about myself," Castle said. "I'm worried about you. Your dad said you didn't really respond to him when you were brought here to the room." He opened his mouth as he looked into Beckett's eyes and quickly shut it in surprise when she looked away from him, seeming to be ashamed. "What are you afraid of?" he asked.

"I'm not afraid," Beckett said firmly. "I just am not sure how I want to explain this. Julia… my filing for adoption for her so quickly." She noticed that Castle looked a little hesitant and she said, "You told him?"

"Only the basics," Castle said. "I called him after you and Julia were taken and I told him the least I could about the case. And I told him how much she trusts you and how she has no one now. He will probably be able to figure out you wanting to adopt her."

Taking a deep breath, Becket walked back to the bed and sat down saying, "If I win custody of her, you know things will change."

"Of course, a child always does that," Castle said, knowing she was referring more to their relationship than herself. "And I could care less Kate. I'm sure we'll be able to work through any difficulties. We have for a while now."

Breathing out slowly, Beckett nodded and turned to Julia and wrapped the little girl's arm around the Stitch doll before she bent over and kissed her forehead. She was started when Julia let out a heavy breath, and she pulled back quickly as Castle hurried to stand next to her, both of them watching as the child's eyes slowly opened and focused on them.

"Mommy?" Julia whispered slowly.

Castle ran for the door, opening it as Beckett hugged Julia quickly and he yelled to the nurse's station before the woman behind the counter came running down the hall. He stepped back as she quickly took a look at the little girl who was sitting up, trying to get on Beckett's lap, and then ran out back to the nurse's station, grabbing the phone.

"She's awake?" a female doctor said, coming out of another room further down the hall at a page over the speaker for a Dr. Benzema. When the nurse replied in the affirmative, she got her stethoscope from her pocket and hurried into the room. "Ma'am, I'll need you to step back so I can check on Julia," she told Beckett.

"I'll be right here sweetie," Beckett said to the little girl who started to whimper. "She just wants to check and make sure you're okay."

"I wanna go home," Julia sobbed softly.

Beckett couldn't really reply to that, so she quickly pressed a kiss to Julia's forehead before she stepped back and felt Castle's hand on her back as they watched the doctor exam the child. She took a deep breath when she saw someone moving out of the corner of her eye. "Dad," she said, hugging him tightly before the nurse walked over to them.

"I'm going to need you three to wait outside for me if you can," the nurse told them.

Hesitating, Beckett looked at Julia, who was watching her, her green eyes wide, and she called to her, "I'll be right outside okay?" When Julia nodded slowly she went out into the hall with her father and Castle and said, "Weren't Ryan and Espo here?" looking at the waiting room, seeing it was empty.

"They told me they needed to get some paperwork set with the FBI," Beckett's father replied. "And they wanted me to tell you. Are you okay Katie?"

"Yeah, yes, I'm okay, I just," Beckett started to say. She glanced at Castle, who quickly placed his hand on her back since they were standing next to each other, and she turned back to her father telling him, "Castle told me that he told you a little bit about Julia."

"He did," Mr. Beckett said, looking surprised at his daughter's hurried and nervous tone. "You're sure you're fine?"

"It's not that, I'm fine," Beckett replied. "I mean, besides some minor injuries everything's perfectly fine. But about Julia, I need to tell you, I've filed for adoption of her."

Looking shocked, her father opened his mouth and then hesitated for a few minutes before he said, "Adopt a child? Katie… are you sure?"

"It's a little hard to explain Dad," Beckett said, not too surprised at his reaction. "But, when I first saw her, when I coaxed her out of that hidden room in her closet I'm sure Castle told you, I just felt a connection. I can't explain it better than that." She was about to say more when there was the sound of a loud shriek coming from Julia's room, and she instantly turned around and ran inside, seeing that she was sobbing as the nurse walked out with a vial of blood.

"I tried to calm her down," Dr. Benzema told Beckett as she rushed to the bed and took Julia into her arms. "She kept saying we were trying to give her back to the bad men."

"I'll calm her down," Beckett said. When the doctor had left, she rubbed Julia's back tenderly before she said softly, "The bad men left Julia, they're never going to come back okay? They'll never hurt you, I won't let them."

"W-What if they h-hurt you?" Julia stammered as she looked up at her. "They hurt you a lot."

"No, it's alright," Beckett soothed her, gently kissing her forehead. "I'm alright. And what the doctor did for you just now is to check and make sure that you're not hurt anymore okay?"

"Are they really gone?" Julia whispered. When Beckett nodded she then whispered, "Did Castle come to get us?"

"He did, see, he's right there in the door," Beckett said, smiling as she turned so the little girl could see him. She wasn't surprised when Julia pressed closer to her and said, "It's alright sweetie, I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you like that again," hugging her tightly once more.

Castle saw the doll he'd brought for Julia was on the floor next to the bed, and he walked inside slowly, smiling as Julia watched him closely. He quickly picked it up, and handed it to Beckett saying, "He missed you, I thought you'd want to see Stitch again."

"Thank you," Julia said, clutching the doll in one arm but looking away from him.

Frowning, Beckett shared a look with Castle before she nodded towards the doorway. She could tell he was a little hurt at Julia's reaction, but she knew he likely understood why she had gone back to not trusting him. She looked down at the little girl then and said gently, "It's over now okay?"

"The bad men aren't gonna hurt me anymore Mommy?" Julia whispered, resting her head on Beckett's chest.

"No, they're not going to," Beckett said firmly, glancing at Castle who was alone in the doorway by then. "It's over," she whispered herself, hoping for the child's sake that she was correct. She kissed the top of Julia's head and tried not to think of the fact that for her, things weren't over yet. She was going to have a fight for custody of Julia, and she only hoped she wouldn't end up having to break her promise to the little girl. She tried to push the thought out of her mind, instead focusing on Julia, who curled up against her. Closing her eyes tightly, she felt Castle's hand on her shoulder, and she reached up with her free hand, squeezing it as she knew that though she was going to have to struggle to adopt Julia, she wasn't going to be alone. She never was.


	10. Epilogue- Thoughts That Linger

Running through the room, Julia suddenly felt someone grab her and lift her into the air as she let out a squeal of laughter.

"You almost made it," Beckett said with a laugh as she kissed Julia on the cheek. "That's a good hiding spot you found. I was looking all over for you."

"You can't find me?" Julia giggled as she wrapped her arms around Beckett's neck.

"No, want to tell me where you went so I can use that spot?" Beckett asked as Julia twisted a strand of her hair around her fingers. She smiled when the little girl shook her head and she kissed her again saying, "Not fair, but I don't blame you, if it's that good of a hiding spot I wouldn't let anyone know either. So now you're it sweetie. Close your eyes and I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"Kay," Julia said eagerly as she let go of Beckett's hair as she set her down. She closed her eyes and then covered them before she could hear Beckett counting out loud.

As she ducked behind the curtains next to the table, Beckett looked out at the main room, keeping an eye on Julia as she kept her eyes covered, but kept twisting back and forth. She smiled as she suddenly remembered the past three weeks since she and Julia had been rescued from Harris and his men, and how everything had changed; and definitely for the better in her mind. "I'm ready sweetie," she called out to her daughter, watching Julia uncover her face as she ducked back more behind the red curtain, watching the little girl skip towards their rooms.

* * *

_"Please be seated," Judge Warren said to Beckett and her lawyer as they were standing in the small courtroom. Once seated the man looked at her and said, "Ms. Beckett, I have reviewed everything that has been given to me regarding Julia O'Malley and have paid special attention to the interviews that have been conducted by Social Services, both of you and Julia herself. Then there are all of these letters from your colleagues, including a few friends. However, I have looked into your past, and you were once shot in the heart by a sniper who was involved in the case concerning your mother weren't you?"_

_"I was sir," Beckett said a little tensely. She had been on edge for the past five days, since she had been told custody of Julia would be decided by the judge two days after they had been rescued from Queens. "I saw a psychiatrist and I included a letter from him about my psychological state."_

_"Yes, he also states that you are fit to care for the child," the judge said, holding up a folded piece of paper. "That you are psychologically sound and the trauma that you have experienced with Julia has not affected you to prevent you from raising her adequately." He set the letter aside and then leaned over the bench saying, "And the other letters I have received about you say the same, that you are the best possible choice to have custody of her." He leaned back then and said, "Are you prepared to take on the responsibility of caring and raising Julia O'Malley?"_

_"I am sir," Beckett said as seriously as she could, trying to ignore the glimmer of hope she started to feel._

_"Since Julia's birth mother stated that she wants Julia herself to decide custody," the judge then said. "I am inclined to take that into account considering what she has gone through since her mother was murdered. And there is also the fact that she believes you are her mother. That is why this custody hearing was called so soon after you filed for adoption. According to Social Services, she has been refusing to eat and not talking to anyone, only asking for her mother, 'Kate.'" He watched as Beckett tensed in her chair and said, "Therefore I find it imperative to make my ruling, and I rule that custody of Julia O'Malley will be given to you Ms. Beckett. But you will be on a six month probation, and subject to impromptu visits by Social Services. At such time, if the results of those visits are positive, then you will be allowed to complete the adoption process and change Julia's last name as you have requested, and the psychiatrists who have spoken to her have recommended."_

_Breathing out slowly as the judge stood and left the room, Beckett turned to her lawyer and shook his hand saying, "Thank you." She turned to leave the table and went to her father who was sitting next to Castle._

_"Ms. Beckett," a woman said, walking up the aisle from the back of the courtroom as Beckett hugged her father. "I'm Debra Stewart from Social Services."_

_"Yes, when can I pick up Julia," Beckett asked quickly._

_"She's here, down the hall with another worker, we've been caring for her since she was brought to the offices," Stewart said. "I can bring her out to you in the hall."_

_Beckett didn't say a word to the others sitting with her father and Castle, merely nodding to Ryan, Esposito and Alexis and Martha before walking as fast as she could out of courtroom. She went to the bench across from the door as the social worker asked her to wait there, and breathed out slowly as she looked out the windows._

_"Okay?" Castle asked as he was the first out of the room._

_"Yeah, I just want to get Julia and go home," Beckett replied, smiling at him slightly before Ryan and Esposito came out to them._

_"Really happy for you Beckett," Esposito said. "If anyone deserved to get custody of Julia it was you."_

_"Thanks Espo," Beckett said with a smile._

_"He's right, and she won't have to go through foster care now. She's a lucky girl," Ryan said. "We need to go though. We've got a body."_

_"Oh, well, if you guys need any kind of help-" Beckett started to say._

_"You've got a two week vacation," Esposito interrupted. "Don't think you're supposed to be helping us out."_

_"You'll need the time to get used to Julia," Ryan said. "Gotta remember that you're a mother now."_

_"Thanks for your letters guys," Beckett said._

_"Not a problem," Esposito said. "We'll see you after next week."_

_After Ryan had said goodbye to them and he and Esposito had left the hall, Beckett turned to Castle and said, "It's hard to remember that."_

_"That you're a mother?" Castle asked, glancing at her father and Alexis and Martha who were standing across the hall by the door._

_Beckett nodded, and she looked over at her father who walked to her. "Do you mind this?" she asked as soon as he was close._

_"Becoming a grandfather?" Mr. Beckett asked. "No, I didn't realize that Julia was so attached to you, to the point where she is barely eating. And this is your decision Katie. I just hope you won't have any problems adjusting to having a child."_

_"You haven't seen the way she's been with Julia," Martha said, giving Beckett a hug then. "I am so happy for you. And for Julia as well, that poor little girl needs you badly."_

_"Vice versa too," Castle said under his breath. When Beckett looked at him questioningly he merely smiled before he said, "You'll love Julia, Jim. She's a very sweet girl."_

_"It's sounding more and more she's like you were at that age," Mr. Beckett said with a smile. "But are you absolutely sure this is what you want? Things change when people have a child to raise."_

_Beckett was about to answer him, when she heard a door opening down the hall, and Castle; in front of her; looked past her. She turned around quickly, and saw the social worker gently pulling Julia out into the hall. "Julia!" she called, taking off at a run._

_"Mommy!" Julia cried when she heard Beckett's voice. She pulled out of the social worker's grasp and ran as hard as she could._

_As soon as she had reached the little girl, Beckett picked her up and swung her into her arms, hugging her as tightly as she could, tears in her eyes. She stroked Julia's hair, feeling her arms tighten around her neck, and she turned, opening her eyes and seeing that the others were watching them. She laughed in her relief and joy, which was slightly distorted, and she pressed a kiss to the side of Julia's head. When she pulled away she smiled as the child looked at her seriously and tangled her fingers through her hair. "Are you okay sweetie?" she whispered, kissing her forehead._

_"Can we go home?" Julia said as she nodded._

_"Yes," Beckett said firmly before she started to walk down the hall. The stress she'd gone through the past five days finally disappearing since she had Julia in her arms. She smiled at her father, Castle, Martha and Alexis as she neared them and said, "See who's here?" to Julia._

_"Who is the man?" Julia whispered, tightening her grip on Beckett's neck._

_"This is my dad," Beckett said, turning so her father could see Julia. "Your grandfather."_

_"Hello Julia," Mr. Beckett said, gently touching her shoulder before he moved back his hand when she pressed her face against Beckett's cheek._

_"Hi Julia," Alexis said, waving at her as she turned to look at them. "It's nice to see you again." She smiled at her grandmother and father as Julia waved slightly in response and she watched as Martha walked over to Beckett._

_"Hello again Julia, do you remember me?" Martha asked. She wasn't too surprised when the little girl nodded, but turned her head away._

_"Sorry, I think it's been too much for her," Beckett said, shifting Julia to her other hip. "I should take her home."_

_"I hope we can see her again," Martha said, touching Julia's back._

_"You will," Beckett said. "In a week or so once we're settled with things at home." She reached out to Castle and squeezed his hand as Martha and Alexis walked down the hall. "I'll call you Dad," she said, turning to her father. "And we'll set up a lunch or dinner together, so you can get to know one another more."_

_"I'm looking forward to that," Mr. Beckett said, hugging his daughter. "If you need any help Katie…"_

_"I'll call," Beckett said with a smile before her father joined Martha and Alexis. She smiled at Castle and said, "Thank you for everything, with the case and her adoption."_

_"Not a problem," Castle said with a nod. "I'm just glad the judge was able to see the only solution that would benefit Julia." He hugged Beckett to him then carefully, watching the little girl as she looked up at him briefly. "And what your dad said, about you needing help, you can give me a call too."_

_"I will," Beckett said before he kissed her cheek carefully. "Okay, are you ready to go home now sweetie?" she asked Julia. She smiled when the little girl nodded and she set her down on the floor, taking her hand. "Then let's go," leading her down the hall, smiling at her father, Martha and Alexis as she passed them, turning her attention to her daughter as the little girl skipped slightly to keep up with her strides, a wide smile on her face._

* * *

Beckett was a little startled when the curtain was suddenly pulled away, and she laughed when Julia squealed, "I found you Mommy!" She picked the little girl up and said, "You did really well, I wasn't sure you'd be able to."

"I saw your feet," Julia giggled. "Is it your turn to be it?"

"It is-" Beckett started to say when there was a knock at the door. She wasn't too surprised when Julia whimpered a little and held onto her tightly. "It's alright sweetie, let's go and see who it is," she said, having been trying to ease the fears the girl still had about strangers since she'd brought her home. "Tell you what," she said when Julia wouldn't relax. "Why don't you try and guess who it is and you can pick the movie we'll watch after dinner."

"Can I?" Julia asked eagerly. When Beckett nodded, stepping into the entryway, she said quickly, "Castle?"

"Let's see," Beckett said, checking the peephole. She smiled and unlocked the door saying, "Looks like you get to pick the movie." She opened it and smiled as she stepped aside to let him inside. "Looks like my daughter was expecting you," she said as he closed the door behind him.

"Yeah, I heard," Castle said, sharing a quick kiss with her before he followed her into the apartment. "And I brought dinner, and maybe the movie she might pick too."

"Really?" Beckett asked as Castle reached into the bag he had with him. "What is it?"

Castle didn't say anything, merely held out a box to Julia who was hiding a little behind Beckett. He tilted it enough for her to see when she merely looked at him, her green eyes wide, and waited for her to look at the cover.

"Paul!" Julia squealed as she looked. She grabbed the DVD and touched the cover before asking Beckett, "What does it say?"

" _The McCartney Years_ ," Beckett said. "You bought this for her?" she asked Castle in surprise.

"I saw it online, thought you might want it," Castle said to Julia who was trying to open the box at the top. "Wait, like this," he said before he pulled out the inside case.

"What is it exactly?" Beckett asked. "Music videos?"

"Not all of them, but most," Castle replied. "So do you like it Julia? Your mom told me you're a pretty big fan of Paul."

"Thank you," Julia whispered from behind the DVD case and her Stitch doll she was holding in front of her.

"Say that again sweetie," Beckett said gently as she pulled down the items her daughter was covering her face with. "That way Castle can hear you."

"Thank you," Julia said shyly, pressing her cheek to Beckett's leg and looking at Castle out of the corner of her eye.

"You're very welcome," Castle said, crouching down so he was face to face with her. "Are we going to get to watch it after dinner?"

"Can we Mommy?" Julia asked quickly.

"I think so," Beckett said, looking at the list of videos. "But not all of it; looks like a lot here. Oh, they have the video for your favorite song Julia."

"Let's watch now! Please?" Julia asked eagerly, adding please as almost an afterthought.

"After dinner," Beckett said firmly. "You were running around the park earlier and you wouldn't eat your snack." She looked at Castle then as he stood and asked, "Speaking of which, what did you bring?"

"Something Alexis suggested," Castle said, walking with Beckett to the kitchen and where he'd placed the other bag he'd brought in with him. He pulled out a black container and opened it, showing it to her.

"What is it?" Beckett asked.

"Thought you might have had it," Castle said. "Come here Julia, Alexis suggested this since she thought you might want to eat this kind of food."

"W-What is it?" Julia asked, running over to Beckett and peering at the food inside.

"Hawaiian," Castle said.

"Like Stitch would eat?" Julia said, her eyes wide.

"Something like that," Castle said, taking out the other containers. "That girl in Alexis' dorm had a Hawaiian party last week. Alexis had told her dorm mate about Julia," he said to Beckett. "And how she loves Stitch, so she decided to have a small party and served this food while they watched the movie. Alexis said it was pretty good."

"Let's hope she's right," Beckett said. She turned her attention to Julia then and said, "Sweetie, can you go get your iPod and turn it off?"

"Can't we listen to music still? Quiet music?" Julia begged.

"Alright, then go ahead and color while we get everything ready," Beckett said. "You're hungry right?"

Julia nodded before she ran over to the coffee table in the family room where there was an open coloring book and crayons.

"She's having trouble eating?" Castle asked as he watched Beckett taking out three plates and forks before going over to her table.

"Sometimes," Beckett said absently as she put everything out. She glanced over at Julia and said, "Usually when she has a nightmare she doesn't eat breakfast and lunch too well."

"What's she dreaming about?" Castle whispered to her so Julia wouldn't hear.

"What happened to us in Queens," Beckett said simply.

"Does she dream about that hidden room at all?" Castle asked as he followed her to the kitchen.

"No, but… I don't really want to discuss that now," Beckett said, nodding in Julia's direction.

"Okay, then tell me about that visit from the social worker, I didn't have a chance to ask you about it until now," Castle said, easily changing the subject as he could see she was becoming a little tense talking about nightmares.

Beckett smiled and said, "I really wasn't expecting to come home to find her at my door. Or so soon after I was given custody of Julia. But they're serious about Julia's well being, so in the end I don't mind it." She shook her hair over her right shoulder and said, "I was worried though, I wanted to get her to the park to play a little so I left things messy from breakfast and I thought that was going to affect my evaluation."

"And did it?" Castle asked.

"I'm still Julia's mother," Beckett said simply before she walked over to the fridge and pulled out some milk. "Julia," she called then. "Come on we're going to start eating."

After getting the food and drinks to the table, the three sat down to eat, Julia to Beckett's right and Castle across from her. They were quiet at first, Beckett helping the little girl with her food.

"Mommy this isn't good," Julia said after she'd eaten some of the cabbage under the meat in the container.

"Oh, forgot already, Alexis said it tastes better if you eat the meat or chicken and the cabbage together," Castle said. "Like this," he said as he speared some of the chicken and then a piece of cabbage. He watched, exchanging a smile with Beckett, as Julia got some chicken and cabbage with her fork. They ate at the same time and he nodded saying, once he'd swallowed, "A lot better."

"Good?" Beckett asked Julia, brushing some of the strands of hair that were on her cheek behind her ear. She smiled when the little girl nodded enthusiastically and she pressed a kiss to her temple. "You know-" she began to say as she sat up straight.

"Wait, is that…" Castle said, looking up at the ceiling before trailing off.

"Castle…? Someone slip something in your wine?" Beckett asked, shaking his arm after he stared up for a while.

"No, unless you just slipped and told me you did," Castle said with a grin when Beckett rolled her eyes. "I was just listening to the music playing. That's _Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five_ isn't it?"

"Impressive," Beckett said, looking surprised.

"It's Macca," Julia whispered, watching them around her glass she held to her mouth.

"You're right, and she's a huge fan. Calling him Macca," Castle said.

"She is," Beckett said. "And after the past, almost week and a half I think I am too," she said as she stood up. She went over to her computer and stopped the music before bringing over a dark blue iPod, handing it to Castle. "Can he look?" she asked Julia.

"Thanks, interested to see what you've got here Julia," Castle said, taking the player and scrolling through the folders that were on it. He whistled then before putting some food in his mouth and he quickly went through the albums in the top folder. "You weren't kidding; she's got all of Paul's albums, the unreleased stuff. Oh hey," he said with a laugh. "You've got _Cage_ ; you know that song always reminds me of your mom. Well, the first and last verses anyways. She loved to play hard to get," he whispered, leaning across the table as Julia giggled shyly. "Ah! Okay, sorry!" he yelled when Beckett's hand suddenly latched onto his ear and pulled it until he was sitting up. "Geez, in front of your daughter Kate?" he asked, pretending to rub his ear in pain.

"Please don't talk about our relationship before we got together to my daughter Castle," Beckett said simply. "But I never thought you were a Paul fan. Always pegged you as more of a John enthusiast."

"Like his solo stuff, but I always liked bass guitars," Castle said, looking back at the iPod. "And Paul's got some really great songs; he's like a novelist, just in a really short format. Like this one, _Band on the Run_ , one of my favorites."

"Me too," Julia said softly, looking down at her plate.

"Look up sweetie," Beckett said gently, tilting Julia's chin up so she was looking at them. "Remember it's easier for people to hear you if you look up at them okay?" She smiled reassuringly at the little girl who smiled a little back at her, and then turned to Castle saying, "She goes through an album of Paul's every day. Today's was _Band on the Run_."

"She listens to it all day?" Castle asked with a smile as he looked at Julia.

"Almost, by the end of the day before bed she's got her next one picked out," Beckett said, dishing out some more steamed rice for herself and Castle. "Keep eating Julia," she whispered to the little girl.

"I see, can I get a preview of tomorrow's album?" Castle said to the little girl who was eating some macaroni salad.

"Can we listen to _Kisses_ Mommy?" Julia asked Beckett eagerly after she looked down at her plate for a moment.

" _Kisses On The Bottom_? You have that album? I love that album," Castle said as Beckett opened her mouth to speak, giving his voice a higher pitch. He smiled when Julia giggled again and said, "Oh, I see it right here. Alexis likes this album too."

"Speaking of Alexis, she came over yesterday, did you know?" Beckett asked him as he looked at the iPod again.

"I know, she wanted to see Julia again, said she helped you practice your ballet for a little," Castle said to Julia. "And I have to say Kate; this is the coolest kid I've ever met."

"Why?" Julia asked, her eyes wide.

"You have George Harrison's CDs, some of Ringo's, even a couple of John's. And Sam Cooke? I don't know any four year old who knows who he is. The Who, some good music there. The Drifters, Smokey Robinson. Even some Michael Jackson here," Castle said, shaking his head in amazement. "And all the Beatles' albums, no surprise there, I've got them too. And you've got some modern stuff, Norah Jones, not bad either, U2, a little bit of Elvis' songs."

"And we're not done getting everything onto that iPod yet," Beckett said, smiling as Julia got off her booster seat and went over to her. "But she does have pretty amazing tastes in music."

"I'll say, never heard a four year old liking all this music," Castle said, smiling at Julia who was on Beckett's lap. "How'd you like the dinner?" he asked, handing her her iPod.

"It was good," Julia said, looking down at the player. "Thank you for bringing it."

"You're welcome," Castle said as Beckett whispered something in the little girl's ear before she ran over to her computer. "Her mother had an account?" he whispered to her.

"No, that was under Julia's name," Beckett whispered back, watching as Julia plugged in the music player and set it to play. "I told you that her doctor suggested I have some things from her life before we met, that was one of them."

"You never explained that though," Castle said. He stopped talking then when Julia ran back to them and said, "Not surprised you put on this album," to the little girl who Beckett pulled up on her lap.

"You want to go color some more?" Beckett asked. When Julia shook her head no she sighed and then reached over, grabbing the plate that she'd been eating off of. "Then at least finish this rice okay? You ate pretty well tonight though." She took some of the steamed rice on her fork and tried to feed Julia. "Come on sweetie," she said coaxingly when the child turned her head away.

"I'm not hungry anymore Mommy," Julia entreated.

"Okay," Beckett sighed. "We'll try to do better at breakfast tomorrow."

"I can make some pancakes Julia," Castle said, smiling as he'd watched the exchange between the two. "You like chocolate chip?"

Julia nodded and wrapped her arms around Beckett, who started to stroke her hair, and she suddenly sat up straight. "Can I get Stitch? I left him over there," she asked.

"Go ahead, why don't you color, we need to start cleaning up," Beckett said, setting her down. She stood up and took her plate and Julia's before Castle put his hand on her arm, stopping her from walking to the kitchen. "What?" she asked in surprise.

"Why-" Castle began to say.

"No, later, when she's in bed," Beckett said, realizing what he was about to ask. "I don't want to risk her overhearing us. Her therapist and I have made a lot of progress with her and I don't want to take a giant step backwards."

"Okay," Castle said easily. "But I brought a nice bottle of wine, and if I have to get you drunk Detective Beckett to get the information out of you, I have the ammo for it."

"You don't have to," Beckett said, rolling her eyes at that. "But a glass of wine will be really nice."

"Later then," Castle said, taking the plates she was still holding.

When everything from the meal was cleaned up, Beckett went to Julia who was still at the coffee table; though by then she was playing with the hair on the top of Stitch's head; and picked her up. "You ready to watch your movie?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, can I?" Julia asked excitedly.

"I'll get it ready," Castle said as Beckett sat cross legged on the couch with Julia on her lap. "Wait, which disc?" he asked, pausing with the box in his hand.

"Here, let's see what we've got," Beckett said, holding her hand out. Once Castle had given her the box she said, "They have _Mamunia_ , _Band On The Run_." She quickly read the other titles, but Julia shook her head until she read the second disc.

" _Off The Ground_ Mommy, I want to see that one!" Julia said, jumping on Beckett's lap.

" _Off The Ground_ it is," Castle said as he took out the second disc and got it ready to play. He sat down behind Beckett, glad that Julia didn't seem to notice him as he knew she would probably become uncomfortable with him near. He watched the two in front of him as they watched the music video, and he had to smile as Julia giggled when the singer started to fly. They watched two more music videos, and at one point he reached up, touching the small of Beckett's back and whispering in her ear, "Good choice?"

"Great choice," Beckett said when the next video started.

"What's this one Mommy?" Julia asked in excitement.

"Your favorite sweetie, _Dance Tonight_ ," Beckett replied, looking at the list of songs. She smiled when Julia squealed and squirmed a little before Castle moved his hand. She glanced back at him and saw a flicker of some emotion in his eyes, something that she couldn't really name. She wanted to ask him about it, but Julia started to bounce again, and she had to turn her attention to the little girl, making a note to ask him about that later, hoping he was alright.

After watching a few more videos, Beckett looked at her watch and saw the time was later than she'd thought and she quickly stood with her daughter in her arms. "Time for a bath Julia, and then bed," she told the little girl.

"Don't wanna," Julia sighed, wrapping her arms around Beckett's neck.

"I know, but you have to," Beckett replied, kissing Julia's temple. "Sorry," she said, suddenly remembering Castle. "But-"

"That's alright, I can wait," Castle said. "I can open up that bottle I brought you."

Beckett nodded, trying to smile but having a little bit of a hard time doing so. She shook off her apprehension, and she went into her room. Since bringing Julia home, she had set up a kind of routine for the two of them for getting her ready for bed. She gave the little girl a bath and then carried her in her pajamas into her room were she dried her hair the best she could.

"Mommy!" Julia cried, laughing with Beckett as her voice shook heavily with how hard she was rubbing the towel over her hair.

"Okay, anymore and my arms are going to fall off," Beckett joked as Julia giggled. "Can you get your hairbrush for me?" She smiled as Julia walked to the bathroom attached to her room and she heard footsteps coming up to the door. "Got bored waiting?" she asked, smiling as she saw that Castle was looking around the room, his eyes wide.

"Wow, wasn't expecting you to go all out for her," he said instead.

Julia stepped out of the bathroom at that point and saw Castle looking at a framed poster on one of the walls. She ran over to Beckett sitting on the edge of her bed, and hid her face in her lap.

"It's alright Julia," Beckett said gently, picking her up and sitting her down in front of her. "Castle just wanted to see how we decorated your room."

"She's right, and this is pretty awesome, I love this poster," Castle said, pointing to the one he was looking at, of the Beatles in a doorway. "How'd you get them to sign it?"

"Didn't," Julia said, hugging Stitch tightly to her as she looked up at him over the head of her doll.

"Still, I like it," Castle said. "And is that a _barre_?"

"Yes, so she can practice her ballet," Beckett said, brushing out Julia's slightly tangled hair. "Actually, she and Alexis were practicing there yesterday. I think my daughter showed yours some pointers. Didn't you sweetie?"

"Yeah, she was good Mommy," Julia giggled. "She liked the first position."

"It's pretty easy," Beckett said, smiling before she gently turned Julia's head so she was facing forward again.

"Think you can show me?" Castle asked Julia.

Looking on, Beckett wasn't too surprised when the little girl shook her head no and hugged her doll tighter to her. "It's okay, you don't have to, maybe in the future," she said as she finished brushing out the reddish brown locks. She stood up as Julia crawled to the top of the bed, and went to put the brush away.

"Want me to show you how I dance Julia?" Castle joked with her as the child wouldn't look up at him.

"I really don't think that's a good idea," Beckett said, coming back out. "I don't need my daughter to be horrified," she said as she picked Julia up and took her back into the bathroom.

"Hey, I'm not a bad dancer," Castle called out to her, pretending to be angry.

"Ballet though?" Beckett called back out to him.

"I could do it," Castle said, laughing when he heard her snorting in disbelief. "I could try at least."

"Another time," Beckett said. "It is time for Julia to go to bed."

"Are we gonna read Mommy?" Julia asked as Beckett set her down on the bed.

"Of course, ten pages again, but you need to get to sleep right after," Beckett said firmly, taking a book off the nightstand and sitting with Julia against the headboard. "You're welcome to stay," she said to Castle as he started to walk out of the room.

"You sure? I figured you'd want this to be just you and Julia time," Castle said from the doorway.

"It's okay," Beckett said. "I just have to warn you, this is not one of your books."

"Better not be," Castle said, walking to the bed. He was about to start sitting down when he paused and asked Julia, "Okay if I sit here?"

"It's okay sweetie," Beckett said when the little girl peered up at her anxiously. "He just wants to hear the story too."

"Kay," Julia said, glancing at Castle quickly. When he was sitting on the edge of the bed, across from her and Beckett, she climbed up into her lap and wrapped her arms around her tightly, holding her Stitch doll against her left side.

"What's the book?" Castle asked, sitting as close to Beckett as he thought Julia would be comfortable with.

"An old one, _Little House in the Big Woods_ ," Beckett said. "We bought it yesterday at the bookstore with the rest of the books in the series. You picked it out didn't you sweetie?" She smiled when Julia nodded and then opened the book to where there was a bookmark. "Okay, this chapter is called _Christmas_ remember. And we stopped last night right when Laura got her doll."

Castle looked on as Beckett started to read and Julia turned in her lap so she could look at the illustrations inside. He smiled when the little girl started to nod off, but then jerked awake before her eyes started to droop closed again. He watched Beckett, seeing she was watching Julia as she turned the pages. After ten pages, she closed the book after setting the bookmark in it and he quickly stood, going to the doorway.

"Sweet dreams Julia," Beckett said once she had tucked the little girl under the covers, her Stitch doll next to her. "I love you."

"I love you too Mommy," Julia said sleepily before she reached out with her arms from under the sheet.

"Go to sleep sweetie and we'll see you in the morning," Beckett said before she kissed her forehead as they hugged. She tucked Julia back in and then turned, walking to the doorway where she stood, feeling Castle touch the small of her back as she watched the little girl turn a little on the bed before closing her eyes. She closed the lights and then the door, turning to him as he reached down and took her hand. "Is it hard to believe I'm a mother now?" she asked, wanting to fill the silence suddenly.

"Not really," Castle said, letting go of her hand after she was sitting at the table again. He sat in the chair he'd been in earlier and poured out the wine in the two glasses he had next to the bottle before he handed one to her. "Watching you since you brought her here… I think anyone who didn't know she wasn't yours would have a hard time believing you adopted her."

"It just makes me feel guilty though," Beckett said, leaning her elbow on the table and placing her cheek on her hand. "Her mother…"

"Yeah, what's the story about Julia thinking you're her mother," Castle said. "Did you find out?"

"That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about," Beckett said. "I took her for a full and complete checkup at my hospital, including an MRI and CAT scan, x-rays. Everything they could do to check and make sure she wasn't seriously injured. And she's perfectly fine." When Castle looked at her in confusion she sighed slightly and said, "I know, it doesn't make any sense, but they're thinking it's selective amnesia. When they hit her when we were taken, where they hit, and how hard, was enough to cause that apparently."

"So in her mind Maureen O'Malley never existed," Castle said.

"Which is the reason why she had no idea who the other woman was when they showed her my picture and her mother's," Beckett said. "I asked her psychiatrist more about how that works, and whether or not she'll ever get her memory back."

"Will she?" Castle asked.

Beckett merely shrugged before she said, "There's a chance, but as she gets older it'll be less and less likely. I'm really hoping not, because if she suddenly wakes up and sees me as Kate again, what's her reaction going to be?"

"And if she does when she's older?" Castle said.

"I have some things I was allowed to take from her mother's house, photo albums, mainly, and I've got them in a box that's at my dad's cabin," Beckett said. "In the chance that she does remember her."

"Was nice of you to do," Castle said. "You could have just ignored her life before we met her. So that's why you're getting everything new? Clothes, music, books?"

"Yes, her doctor said it's better I do that so she's not confused. In her mind, she remembers only me and the first day she was here, though it's not her first day here to her. She just can't remember anything before that," Beckett replied. "And it doesn't really seem to bother her or anything, the memory loss, she accepts me as her mother and that was all she needed, with the way her mother raised her there wasn't anything she was really going to remember from that part of her life."

Castle was quiet, not sure how to respond to that before he finally asked something he'd been wanting to inquire about since Beckett had left the hospital the evening she and Julia had been found. "Does she remember your time in Queens still? Or is it just coming back to her in nightmares?"

"She was hit on the head before we got to the house. So yes," Beckett replied, looking down into her glass at the red liquid. "I've been trying to keep her distracted as much as I can so it doesn't come back to her, but there's nothing I can do about her nightmares."

"That would explain why you've been running around the city," Castle said, smiling slightly at her.

"I'm sorry we haven't really been able to do much together since before the case," Beckett said.

"It's understandable. Julia's going to have to come before me," Castle replied.

"Wow, you're putting someone else before you? I can't believe it," Beckett said in a weak attempt at humor. Before Castle; who had started to frown; could say anything, she quickly said, "Thank you for finding that school for me I forgot to say."

"Mt. Surrey?" Castle asked.

"Yes, it's the best school I've seen so far near enough to here. Plus the security is something I really wanted," Beckett said.

"Great, is she enrolled?" Castle asked.

"She is, and also I managed to get to her into their summer camp program," Beckett said. "Which is just day trips, but I want to her start socializing as much as she can before the next school year. Speaking of that, I've got her signed up for ballet lessons the school has too."

"Is she excited to go?" Castle said before he took a sip of wine.

"She is, but she's nervous about dancing with other girls," Beckett said, smiling wistfully. "But I want to get her away from that life she had before; trapped in her home."

"I think you're doing a great job so far," Castle said. "You've shown her a lot of the city already."

"And I plan to keep doing so as much as I can before school starts for her," Beckett said. She finished her wine and poured herself a little more before she sat back in her chair, seeing Castle was watching her. "You remember me saying we went to the bookstore earlier?"

"You and Julia? Yes, why?" Castle asked, a little frustrated as he'd been about to ask her something.

"I told her about you being a writer," Beckett said, a smile spreading across her lips. "She almost didn't believe me until I showed her your books in the store, since we were passing them."

"Did you show her the ones you have here?" Castle said.

"After we got back. She was impressed I think," Beckett said with a smile. "She wanted me to read one to her, but I quickly distracted her from that."

"Good idea," Castle said with a laugh. "But you know, she's still so…"

"I know," Beckett said, knowing she was referring to Julia's anxiousness around him. "But that's why I want you to come over when you can, so she gets to know you more. And… that reminds me. You were kind of pulling away earlier while we were watching the movie. And I noticed the same thing when I was reading to her. Why were you doing that?" she said as she recalled his actions.

Castle hesitated slightly before he let out a deep breath and said, "I'm a little unsure of where I fit in exactly with you now Kate. Not, not our relationship, I still love you, that hasn't changed," he added quickly when she looked concerned.

"Great, I haven't stopped loving you either. But what do you mean by where you fit in?" Beckett asked.

"You and Julia are a family now, and yes I am your boyfriend, but…" Castle said, spreading his hands apart slightly in a questioning gesture.

"Oh Castle, why didn't you just ask me that in the first place," Beckett said with a slight smile. "It makes you part of our family too. That's why I want you to spend more time with Julia. So she knows that as well."

"Are you sure? You know how I am," Castle said.

"I do, after so many years I do, but I'm standing by my decision," Beckett said firmly. She smiled when a wide smile appeared on Castle's face, but hers soon dropped off as she remembered something and she got up.

"What is it?" Castle asked as she went to her desk in her office and grabbed a file.

"I wanted to show you this," Beckett said, taking a paper out and putting it on the table in front of him. "Read it," she urged him as she sat down.

When he saw that it was her will, Castle opened his mouth to speak but he saw she looked serious, so he turned his attention back to it. When he got to the first provision his eyes widened and he looked up at her. "Kate," he said in a shocked kind of laugh. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Beckett said staring into his eyes.

"But why joint custody? Your dad-" Castle started to say before he stopped abruptly. "You don't think they'd give him custody of Julia."

"If that happened with him after my mother was killed is any example, what might he do if something happened to me?" Beckett sighed. "I don't want to take the chance of Julia being placed in foster care."

"But me? That's, you're putting a hell of a lot of trust in me," Castle said.

"I know, and I don't regret it," Beckett said. "And if you're going to say anything about the future and our relationship," she said, holding up her hand when he started to open his mouth to speak. "I'm not changing my mind. I don't trust anyone else to protect her as much as you would. I know how you are with Alexis, and I can't think of anyone else to care for Julia as well as you will."

"Thank you," Castle said seriously, reaching over and taking her hand.

"Do you mind? I probably should have asked you before I got that put onto paper, but it's not official until I get it signed and you and my dad sign it," Beckett asked as their fingers entwined together tightly on the tabletop.

"No, actually, I'd be honored to care for Julia but I don't like thinking of that possibility Kate," Castle said, squeezing her hand.

"Neither do I, but I want to make sure that everything will be okay for Julia," Beckett said softly. "Your mother though, would she mind either?" she asked as she remembered Martha.

"Don't worry, she and Alexis wouldn't mind," Castle said. "You forgot about Alexis."

"No, she saw the will yesterday, I left it accidentally here on the table," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "She felt insanely guilty she had read something so personal, but I told her I was glad she had seen that about Julia. She didn't like the idea of me not being here for Julia though she won't mind you having joint custody."

"Doesn't surprise me," Castle said, smiling slightly at Beckett who was looking down into her empty wine glass. "When are you going to get this signed?"

"Tuesday, at four," Beckett said. "Do you want to go?" She smiled when he nodded and looked down at their hands and said, "Thanks."

"It's not a problem, just… I don't like thinking about that, like I said," Castle said, sounding slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, we can change the subject," Beckett said.

Castle saw his opportunity and took a mental breath before saying quickly, "Are you okay Kate?"

Looking at him, Beckett saw the concern in his eyes before she slid her hand from his grasp and turned to face the table. "I've gone to see my psychiatrist a couple of times since the day we were found," she whispered. She smiled, without any kind of humor, and said, "I told him about that night we tried to make love for the first time after."

"It was a natural reaction," Castle said quickly. "I told you that before."

"That's what he said too. But it bothers me, being so scared, it makes me the victim still," Beckett said. She shuddered, recalling that night a week and a half before when she and Castle had tried to make love, but she had suddenly been seized by absolute panic as he'd started to take off her blouse, and she hadn't been able to go any further, too terrified by the memory of Harris trying to rape her, seeing him instead of Castle with her.

"Which you were. I told you I didn't care, and I was expecting it," Castle said, remembering that night as well. "What you went through was pretty bad Kate," he said as he reached over and took her hand in his again. "And I wouldn't be too surprised if it took you a long time to get over it."

"No, everything else I'm able to deal with," Beckett said quickly. "I've dealt with worse during my career. But I can't seem to get over the attempted rape."

"It can't be easy," Castle assured her, rubbing his thumb in between her thumb and index finger.

"I want to though," Beckett said. "Not force myself, but I just don't want to have this fear when I'm with you like I did that night." She looked into Castle's eyes then and slid her hand out of his grasp before she leaned over, cupping his face in her hands before she kissed him. She was pleased when he didn't hesitate in responding to her, their heads tilting slightly as she slid her tongue into his mouth.

Castle was pleased at the kiss, he had been careful around Beckett when they'd kissed since three weeks before, not wanting to push her too far after everything she'd been through. He had hoped that she would soon get back to normal, though he knew it would be gradual, but wasn't expecting a kiss like that from her yet. He pulled away a little while after, needing to breathe as he knew she would too, and he looked deeply into her eyes as he cupped her face in his hands as well, stroking her skin with his thumb.

"I want to try again Castle," Beckett whispered, her voice slightly lower than normal.

"Are you sure?" Castle asked, not too surprised though a little concerned how she would be going back to how they were before the case.

Nodding, Beckett was pleased when he stood up and then helped her out of her chair before leading her to their room. Her heart was already starting to pound in nervousness, not sure how she was going to react to him. She tried to push the image of Harris on top of her, ripping at her blouse out of her mind as she closed and locked her bedroom door behind them, and she was concentrating so hard on that she almost jumped when Castle touched her back. She whirled around to him and kissed him deeply as he held her against him tightly.

Castle was unsure if he should really make love to Beckett with the way she was throwing herself into their kiss. But when he pulled away from her, he could see in her eyes mixed in with slight fear, desire. That shook him and he kissed her gently on the lips before he whispered, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, just… please go slowly," Beckett said as he pressed his forehead against hers.

"I was already planning to," Castle said. "Kate, if I make you uncomfortable, or you just want to stop completely, tell me and I will. I won't be mad. Okay?"

Nodding, Beckett closed her eyes tightly as he hugged her closely then and she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him back before they parted. She smiled a little when he brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers and watched as he reached up, pushing her hair back from her neck. She closed her eyes tightly as he started to kiss her neck, sliding her fingers through his hair gently before he pulled away a little while later.

Looking into her eyes, Castle reached up to the top button of her blouse, and gently unbuttoned it. He felt her tense up, a slight gasp escaping from her lips, and he stopped immediately.

"Keep," Beckett started to say before she had to clear her throat. "Keep going, I just… wasn't ready."

"Okay," Castle said easily before he reached up and slowly unbuttoned the next one, not surprised when she tensed up again. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No, just, keep going. I keep thinking you're going to rip them off like H… he did," Beckett confessed. She wasn't surprised when Castle leaned down, and kissed her gently, and she lost herself in it as he carefully finished the buttons and her blouse was open. She shivered as his hands slid over her skin on her shoulders under the blouse, and she straightened her arms so it could fall off them to the floor.

Watching her, Castle slowly put his hands on her back, pulling her against him before he kissed her again. He pulled away quickly as he felt her reaching for the buttons on his shirt, wanting her to have all her attention on that, and also to see she was with him and not about to be raped by Harris which he knew she was still seeing in her mind.

Very slowly, the two undressed one another before they went to Beckett's bed and she let Castle lay her down in the middle, following her since they were kissing at that moment. She had lost some of her fear, but when he carefully slid his hand over her inner thigh, she couldn't stop herself and tensed up yet again. "Sorry," she whispered breathlessly.

"No, I was too fast," Castle said apologetically. He reached up with the same hand and gently tucked a strand of her hair resting against her cheek back behind her ear. He kissed her, careful not to put himself on top of her yet, and he slid his hand from her hair to her side, holding onto it firmly, waiting to see if she'd become more relaxed; her body rigid with apprehension at that point.

With Castle's thumb rubbing in a circle on her skin, Beckett slowly relaxed, and she breathed a little easier as he kissed from the side of her neck to the hollow of her throat. She reached up and slid her fingers carefully over the back of his head, and returned his kiss after he started to kiss her on the lips. She wasn't too surprised when he kept that quick though, and then let go of her, his hand reaching up and carefully brushing against her breast. Instead of going tense again, she was pleasantly surprised when a shiver of electricity raced through her body where he touched her. She threw her arms around him, thinking she was more than ready to start, and was surprised when he didn't take her obvious invitation.

Though he was tempted to start making love to her, Castle didn't want to have her suddenly pulling away from him as she'd done the other night when they'd tried to start making love. He pressed his forehead against hers once he had pulled away from their kiss, and he very carefully fondled her breast as she gasped out under her breath. Luckily he could tell it was a cry of joy and not fear, and he gently thumbed her nipple, watching her closely. He was relieved at the look of pleasure on her face, and he leaned down, capturing her lips hungrily with his own, wanting to be slightly rougher than he was at that moment.

Beckett had to pull away from Castle's lips as his hand slid down from her breasts over her stomach and further down. She reached for the back of his neck and pulled him back for another kiss as his fingers gently rubbed in between her legs. She had completely forgotten about her fears and her memories of Harris had disappeared as she tried to hold on to her sanity. Every brush of his fingers was like an explosion that dissipated to a heat that seemed to cover every inch of her body. She had to breathe, so she pulled away, gasping as he held her against him. She was a little startled when a little while after he moved away, not stopping touching her though. She shivered hard as his lips kissed a trail down her thigh, sliding around to the inside of it, and his mouth was soon replacing his fingers. She clutched at the bed, pressing herself down harder onto the mattress before he moved to kiss her legs a few times, making her grab the back of his head and direct him back where she wanted him; where he'd been before.

Knowing that he had taken care of Beckett's fear, Castle threw himself into pleasuring her, trying to ignore his own needs. He had told himself whenever she was ready to try and make love again he would focus everything on her, ignoring himself. He only hoped that pleasuring her would be enough to get them to the point where they would make love again. He ignored the thought though, and reached up; holding onto Beckett carefully as she almost lifted her hips up off the bed, nearly dislodging his mouth. He held her down, listening to her cries, and he felt his own heart pounding roughly in his arousal.

Beckett wasn't sure what she was saying as she climaxed and more roughly than she thought she would, but she was almost certain Castle's name was spoken somewhere among her cries. When she finally slowed and came back to herself, she was panting heavily as she felt him move up, lying next to her and holding her to him. "Should I-" she started to say, feeling the predicament he was in with his own arousal.

"No, another time," Castle said. He was a little startled when Beckett suddenly kissed him. He was also shocked when she pulled on him until he was lying on top of her and he pulled away, looking into her eyes. "You don't want to be on top? It'd be easier," he told her, breathing roughly at the suddenness of their kiss.

"No, if I do, I'll never be able to lay down with you on top again," Beckett said firmly. She was pleased when Castle nodded, and he reached in between them, carefully spreading her legs which she had already parted slightly. She was tempted to laugh when his fingers brushed against the apex of her legs and he froze, staring at her with wide eyes.

"But I just…" Castle started to say, slightly confused. He shrugged off his shock and moved his damp fingertips from her before he moved to slide into her. He didn't forget her fears the last time they'd been intimate together, and he moved slowly, carefully, watching her intently to make absolutely sure she was alright.

Breathing hard and gasping at his slow pace, Beckett was tempted to force him in her faster, but she was afraid of what she might do if she suddenly remembered her attack in Queens. Finally though, he stopped, and she took his kiss, holding onto the back of his head. She was starting to get a little frustrated when he still wouldn't start to make love to her, but finally he began to move, and for an instant she nearly froze, her mind giving her the horrifying image of Harris on top of her. She pulled away, and seeing Castle's blue eyes instead of Harris' dead black eyes was a rush of relief through her. She threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly as she began to move at the same pace to match his, feeling his lips on her neck again.

Relief was going through Castle at the same moment, as he had a feeling what Beckett had been going through mentally. He kissed her softly, just barely brushing his lips over her neck as her right leg wrapped against him. He felt a stronger sense of relief at the movement; it was a position she used often with him; it meant that she was comfortable, and she felt safe. He pulled back and pressed his forehead against hers, mouthing the words, ' _I love you_ ,' against her lips, feeling as if he was finally working through all the worry and fear he'd felt since she had been kidnapped.

Beckett could suddenly feel tears in the backs of her eyes burning at his words, feeling them against her lips. She mouthed back instantly, ' _I love you_ ,' as she felt the horror and desperation and the idea that she was never going to see him again, never be with him again disappear completely. She tilted her head slightly and kissed him, sliding her fingers through his hair. She moaned into his mouth as that made him thrust a little harder and she hugged him tightly to her, wanting to forget everything but that moment with him.

Sliding his lips down her neck again, Castle went to the hollow of her throat and nuzzled it gently before he flicked his tongue out against it. He tasted the sweat on her skin and shuddered heavily before he couldn't hold back anymore. He buried his face into her neck, and started to almost chant her name repeatedly as he felt her joining him only seconds later.

Though she knew she should have outlasted him much longer, her emotions and just the simple feeling of him was too much for her to take and Beckett held Castle tightly to her, feeling her name against the skin of her neck. She was a little out of touch, having no idea how long they were like that. She panted slightly as they seemed to both go limp almost at the same time, and she stroked his hair carefully before he raised his head. Taking his kiss, she was a little startled when he suddenly moved them, and they were on their knees with her straddling him as he had yet to leave her. She hugged him tightly until they parted, and she pressed her cheek to his, tears in her eyes. "I thought I wouldn't be able to do that again with you," she whispered.

"It wasn't too much?" Castle asked, stroking her hair carefully.

"No," was all that Beckett could say as she tried to stop the tears from falling, but one managed to escape. "But I can put that behind me now."

"Glad I could help," Castle said, smiling at her as he pulled away from her slightly. "And I really, really mean it," he said, reaching up and rubbing the track her tear had made on her cheek as she smiled slightly.

The two kissed gently before they finally parted and lay down on the bed, arms wrapped tightly around each other before they kissed one more time and Castle soon fell asleep.

Laying there, knowing she wasn't going to be able to sleep, Beckett slipped from his embrace carefully, and she went to her closet, slipping on her nightgown quickly before she went over to Julia's room. She stood in the doorway, seeing that her daughter was fast asleep and she smiled, amazed at how things in her life had changed so much in only a matter of a few weeks. She tensed for a second when she felt a hand on her back and turned her head, seeing it was Castle and he'd gotten dressed in his pajamas. "Did I wake you up?" she whispered as softly as she could.

"Yeah, but that's okay," Castle said, kissing her temple. "You do this often?"

"I do, it's not… creepy is it?" Beckett asked, turning and stepping out into the hallway fully, closing the door behind her so they wouldn't wake up the little girl.

"I used to do that when Alexis was the same age," Castle said as they walked down the hall. He was surprised when she turned to him suddenly, stopping, and he said, "What?"

"I forgot to thank you for talking to the mayor for me," Beckett said, putting her hands on his chest. "He called me and told me they were pushing the custody case for Julia ahead."

"That wasn't because I talked to him, the story is pretty well known in the city, and I mentioned some people might be trying to adopt Julia because the money her mother left her. Told him it would be beneficial for Julia if you could adopt her and as soon as possible," Castle said. "But when I told him that he said that it was already decided, since she wasn't really eating or responding to anyone again."

"Still, you did what you could for me," Beckett said meaningfully. "And I owe you a lot you know."

"Well, I can't think of anything right now, I think earlier you started to repay that debt, so if you still owe me anything ask me later," Castle said, smiling when she rolled her eyes. "But it wasn't a problem, and I said I would help you in any way I could."

"Thank you," Beckett said, kissing him then gently before she pulled back.

"We should get some sleep you look tired," Castle said, leading her back to her room. He waited until they were on the bed, lying as they'd been before when he'd fallen asleep before he looked down at her and asked, "How're you feeling now?"

Beckett didn't answer right away, thinking about everything from the moment she had first stepped into the brownstone home where Julia had been taken refuge in the hidden room in her closet up to that point. The case was over, she and Julia were safe and not in Thailand forced into prostitution. The actual bordello outside of Bangkok had been shut down and slowly the children and women that had been forced to work there were being returned to the US. There was no one but Montego and a few other men who had traveled with the containers to prosecute, since Harris and his three thugs were all dead; but the remaining men were being charged with as much as the FBI could get on them. She herself was a mother; if not legally yet, then mentally; and she was doing her best to help her daughter become as normal a four year old girl as she could. She took a deep breath as Castle hugged her briefly to him and she looked up at him. She knew she was lucky her experiences at the house in Queens hadn't destroyed her mentally or her relationship with Castle, and she raised her head a little, knowing they weren't completely back to normal in their relationship. But they were getting there.

Kissing Beckett back as she pressed her lips to his, Castle stroked her hair before she pulled away. He was a little worried when she hadn't replied to him, but she soon spoke.

"Myself, I feel like myself again," Beckett said, smiling as he returned it widely and they pressed their foreheads together. And when he kissed her she felt the conviction of her words, and something she hadn't felt for a while; an eagerness to get to the next day and the one after that. She had the future to look forward to with Julia and Castle by her side, and she had never wanted to see what was in store for her than she did as she settled in Castle's arms; finally safe as they fell deeply asleep in each other's embrace.


End file.
